Nottingham fly-tipper Paul Henry claimed he had identical twin Published duration 13 January 2016

image copyright Gedling Borough Council image caption A member of the public witnessed the illegal act and contacted the council with a description of Henry and the number plate of the vehicle he used to dump the goods

A fly-tipper who blamed an imaginary identical twin for illegally disposing of car tyres has been sentenced.

Paul Henry, 52, from Old Basford, in Nottingham, was seen dumping 14 tyres in a lay-by in February last year.

When Henry was questioned about the fly-tipping offence he replied: "It's not me, it's my twin brother", Nottingham Magistrates' Court heard.

Henry denied the offence, but was convicted after a trial. He was ordered to pay almost £800 in costs and tagged.

During the 10-month investigation Henry also attempted to divert council wardens by giving old addresses.

At the trial, a witness said he saw Henry throwing black items out of a van into a ditch in Mapperley.

Gedling Borough Council's Rachael Bryant, who worked on the investigation, said: "When he said 'It's not me, it's my twin brother, we get muddled up all the time', I couldn't believe it.

"We've had some excuses on our rounds, but this was the first time someone had tried to say they were their own twin."

Councillor John Clarke, leader of the borough council, said: "This is a great example of a member of the public standing up against fly-tippers.

"If it wasn't for the testimony of the witness and the excellent investigative work of our wardens, we would have struggled to get a conviction."