Man who dumped asbestos near to Bradford medical centre handed jail term
He's been handed a 10 month prison term - after dumping waste near Tong Medical Centre in 2024
A MAN who dumped asbestos next to a Bradford medical centre has been sentenced to 10 months in prison.
Martin Haley had been on the run from police since June, when he failed to attend his sentencing hearing at Bradford Magistrates Court and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
He was finally arrested this week, and on Tuesday he was brought before the court to face justice – over two years after the offence took place.
The court heard that in his seven months evading justice Haley had been rough sleeping, and had been stabbed in the leg while on the streets.
Haley had dumped garden waste including asbestos sheets on Proctor Street, off Tong Street, at 3.30am on January 7 2024.
The dead-end road is just yards from Tong Medical Centre.
Council officers scoured CCTV and found that the tipping had been caught on camera.
The owner of the vehicle, a Ford Transit, was tracked down and told officers he had loaned it to Haley – who also attended the interview.
Waseem Raja, prosecuting on behalf of Bradford Council, said: “He (Haley) said he was the driver of the vehicle and was the one responsible for the fly tipping.”
He was told the case could be dealt with by Haley paying a £400 fine. Deadlines to pay the fine passed and were extended by the Council, and eventually the decision was made to prosecute.
Mr Raja said: “The defendant showed a blatant disregard for the law. He dumped material of a dangerous nature. Asbestos, well it speaks for itself, it is quite dangerous.
Haley had pleaded guilty to the fly tipping charge on a previous court appearance, but failed to attend his sentencing on June 19 2025.
He had also pleaded guilty to charges relating to driving on Tong Street while under the influence of cocaine and cannabis.
And on Tuesday he pleaded guilty to a new charge – failing to surrender to police.
Defence solicitor Upkar Bahia said: “The waste was from the garden of a property he rented – it was the remains of a garage. He didn’t know the roof contained asbestos.
“He borrowed a mate’s van and dumped the waste off Tong Street.
“There are a number of issues going on in his life. The main thing was that he was homeless – he lost his accommodation and was living rough on the streets.
“He has a drug problem and health issues – he has a number of underlying issues that is making his life quite chaotic.”
He told the court that Haley was attempting to deal with his issues and was working with rehabilitation centre New Vision.
Mr Bahia said: “He has still not been able to get accommodation sorted and is still homeless. He is making every effort to turn his life around.
“He is on Universal Credit an PIP and sleeps on the streets.
“In August he was attacked and was stabbed. He spent four weeks in hospital where he underwent a major operation. He is still on crutches.
“Life is not easy for him at this moment in time. He has no money, no assets – his only belongings are his clothing, sleeping bag and a few bits and bobs.”
District Judge Boyd said: “I accept the Council’s submission that this was a flagrant disregard of the law.”
He pointed out how serious dumping asbestos could be – to which Haley said from the dock “I didn’t know it was asbestos.”
Judge Boyd said: “I accept you didn’t know but that just shows the significant risk people take when you dump items. There was a total disregard of the rules and no consideration for what you might be dumping. The court takes this matter very seriously.”
He gave Haley a 10 month prison sentence and disqualified him from driving for 41 months.
He ordered him to pay a court surcharge of £187, but acknowledged that his lack of income meant he would be unable to pay the council’s costs – which amounted to £1,647.
After the case Councillor Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Healthy People and Places, said: “Fly-tipping is a callous criminal offence. This particular case was made more serious by the fact it was someone knowingly dumping hazardous material near a medical centre, with absolutely no regard for the risk it would pose to people’s health.
“I hope the sentence sends a very clear message that fly-tipping is a criminal offence and will not go unpunished. We will do everything we can to find the culprits and take action. This could be an unlimited fine or up to five years in prison.
“The public have a responsibility to use a registered wasted carrier to remove their waste or they will also be at risk of prosecution.
“If you witness fly-tipping please report it to us either online via https://www.bradford.gov.uk/transport-and-travel/report-issues/report-fly-tipping/ or by ringing 01274 431000.”