An "eco-friendly" waste company dumped a mountain of rubbish in a busy road in what has been described as “one of the worst cases of fly-tipping ever seen in the city centre”.

The firm – called EcoTidy – left the gigantic mound of rubble, furniture and estate agents’ boards in a Brighton street. EcoTidy – licensed by the Environment Agency – claimed it could not afford to put it in the tip.

But owner Gavin Damario was hauled in front of the courts after he was caught by council officers.

Yesterday at Brighton Magistrates’ Court, the company, based in Old Steine, Brighton, was fined £500 and ordered to pay a total of £810 costs.

Damario admitted fly-tipping.

The rubbish was left several feet high, blocking part of Shaftesbury Place, near London Road railway station, in Brighton.

The court heard a member of the public complained to Brighton and Hove City Council on the morning of June 5.

When council officers arrived they immediately arranged for the rubbish to be moved because it was causing a disruption as only one side of the road was clear for vehicles to use.

As they were loading it, Damario turned up and admitted he had left the waste there earlier that day and the day before.

Len Batten, prosecuting for the city council, said Damario later told council officers he had started his company two weeks earlier but it was registered with the Environment Agency in May last year.

“He said he ran out of money and could not afford the tip prices to dispose of the waste. He thought that if he placed the rubbish there for a day or two until he got paid he could take it to the tip,” Mr Batten said.

Damario, 40, of Hillside, Brighton, told the court he had left the rubbish in the road because he rented a garage nearby and believed he was entitled to use the parking space outside.

He said: “It was not a random fly-tip. In my eyes it was just a temporary stop-gap.”

On the EcoTidy website Damario boasts: “We are licensed by the Environment Agency and take health and safety at work very seriously.

“Our waste removal rates include all labour and disposal fees. We turn up when we say we will, we guarantee all waste is disposed of properly, and we recycle and reuse waste wherever possible.”

Damario admitted illegally depositing the waste and on behalf of his company he admitted breaching its duty by allowing waste to be illegally deposited.

A spokesman for the city council said it would be asking the Environment Agency to review the company’s licence.

Councillor Geoffrey Theobald, cabinet member for environment, said: “We were appalled that a company which claims to provide an environmentally friendly waste disposal service should be responsible for one of the worst cases of fly-tipping ever seen in the city centre and we are pleased with the magistrates’ decision.”