THE law finally caught up with a Yeovil man on Tuesday, after he dumped hundreds of tyres in the Somerset countryside using a bogus tyre disposal company. The case was brought by the Environment Agency.

The fly-tipping activities of Mark Higgins first came to light in 1999 when the agency received complaints from members of the public about scrap tyres on roadsides and other land in Somerset, Dorset and Devon.

An investigation was launched and local garages and tyre dealers questioned in an attempt to identify the people responsible. In the meantime, members of the public were urged to be vigilant and report any fly tipping.

The trail eventually led to Mark Higgins who gave garages bogus waste transfer notes and claimed he was from a genuine tyre company based on an industrial estate in Yeovil. This claim was later found to be false.

Despite repeated attempts the Environment Agency was unable to contact Higgins, who was of no fixed abode. Prosecution was further delayed when the police wanted to question Higgins in connection with a number of criminal offences.

Appearing before South Somerset Magistrates on January 30th, 2003, Higgins pleaded guilty to three offences of dumping controlled waste under section 33(1)(a) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Between January 1st and October 23rd, 1999 almost 1,000 tyres were tipped at various locations, including Eames Mill Farm, Ashwell, Ilminster (30 tyres), Blue Boy Garage, Clapton, Crewkerne (100 tyres), and Goldcroft Road, Yeovil (800 tyres). The case was the adjourned for pre-sentence reports.

On Tuesday, Higgins was sentenced by Yeovil magistrates to three months in prison for each of the three offences to run concurrently.

Bob Chapman from the Environment Agency said: "Illegally dumped tyres are both a fire hazard and an eyesore, especially in the countryside. We view these offences seriously and will not hesitate to prosecute those responsible.

"Where necessary, we will pursue offenders for months and even years to bring them to book as this case clearly shows. The sheer number of tyres dumped and the thousands of pounds spent on their removal and safe disposal, made this a particularly serious case."

Higgins also admitted a total of 12 offences, including theft, obtaining goods by deception and three motoring offences.

He also asked for five other offences to be taken into consideration.

Magistrates heard that Higgins had resorted to crime to pay for a serious drugs habit.