Woman accused of committing ‘one of the worst fly dumps ever’ as 61 tonnes were dumped at the club

Middlesbrough Council safety officers said they had uncovered “one of the worst” fly-tipping incidents they had seen in the city, when 61 tonnes of waste was dumped at a social club

A woman has appeared in court in connection with “one of the worst fly-tipping incidents in Middlesbrough”.

Melanie Gibson, 45, of Creswell Road in Middlesbrough, has pleaded not guilty to dumping rubbish in the city without a permit.

Last year, TeesideLive Middlesbrough Council security guards reported they had uncovered “one of the worst” fly-tipping incidents they had seen in the city, when 61 tonnes of rubbish was dumped at the old Turford Social Club at Brambles Farm.

The waste discovered was large amounts of household rubbish, building materials and household appliances, which were disposed of on site, while unused buildings were filled with rubbish and set on fire.

The exposed rubbish was discovered by Middlesbrough Council’s Environmental Neighborhood Safety Wardens.

Melanie Gibson denied knowing anything about fly-tipping when she appeared before Teesside Magistrates’ Court. She said, “I didn’t know it was there until I saw it in the Gazette and on the news.”

Catherine Cunningham, representing Middlesbrough Council, told the court that a total of 61 tonnes of waste had been dumped on the site. A waste disposal company had to be called in to clean up the mess.

Gibson faces charges for dumping controlled waste without a permit between April 5, 2021 and May 9, 2021. The case has been adjourned for a court hearing on May 24 at 10am.

In addition, Darren Mills, 44, of the city’s Shakespeare Avenue, is also facing three charges related to the same fly-tipping incident but did not appear for the court hearing.

Meanwhile, he is accused of dumping waste without a permit between April 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021. And during the same data, he’s also accused of treating controlled waste in a way that’s likely to cause pollution, and allowing a regulated facility to operate without a permit.

His case was adjourned to Thursday April 12 at 10am.