A TAKEAWAY owner was left facing a £1,500 court bill after a pile of rubbish from his shop was found dumped 30 miles away in Blackburn.

Sajid Hussain, owner of Ashy's Chippery in Crescent Road, Great Lever, was convicted for failing to ensure rubbish was correctly disposed of.

His brother Majid, who is employed by him at the takeaway, said he intended to take the rubbish to the tip when men claiming to be scrap metal dealers offered to dispose of it for a fee of £50.

The bin bags had built up in the yard of the takeaway, and no details for the men who disposed of the rubbish were taken or checks made to see if they were authorised to carry out the work.

Sajid Hussain, aged 39, of Bearded Brow, Blackburn, was fined £300, asked to pay costs of £700, compensation of £447 and a £30 victim surcharge at Bolton Magistrates' Court on April 27, after he had pleaded guilty.

Majid Hussain, who described the case as being "very frustrating".

He said: "We have not got time to dump rubbish in the street, we are professional people.

"It was not our fault. I did not know who these men were. They took the rubbish and took the money off me. I am a victim really.

"I was going to take it to the tip when somebody turned up out of the blue offering to take the rubbish and they took £50 off me."

A fly-tip was reported to Blackburn and Darwen Council on February 18, and a second in a separate location the following day.

An investigation quickly ascertained that the rubbish was linked to a business and it was then traced to Ashy's.

Council officers spoke with Majid Hussain in March, 2014, and he confirmed that he had paid "scrap collectors" £50 to dispose of the waste.

The owner Sajid Hussain was eventually interviewed on September 30.

He said that his brother worked for him on Sundays and Mondays and was in charge of the business when he was away.

The defendant admitted there had been an accumulation of waste and said an agreement with an authorised waste carrier had ended in November, 2013.

He was asked whether he had given his brother instructions as to how to get rid of rubbish and said “no”.