The mystery of 250 used tyres dumped last week in a tidal area at Portland, near Whangarei, has been solved - almost. Northland Regional Council has traced the tyres to Top Karts in Whangarei's Kioreroa Rd. "It's a business that's recently ceased operating," said the council's coastal monitoring team leader Bruce Howse.He was quick to stress that the landowner was not responsible for the dumping. The council was still investigating exactly what happened - who dumped them and why. The culprit could be prosecuted under the Resource Management Act, with potential penalties including a fine of up to $200,000 or up to three months in jail. ``If we can establish exactly what happened beyond reasonable doubt we can look at prosecuting,'' said Mr Howse. Top Karts shifted from Dyer St to a site next to the SPCA in Kioreroa Rd last October, and featured a 1200sq.m kart track and an indoor paintball area. The tyres were dumped some time between about 1pm last Thursday and 10.30am on Friday, when they were discovered near the boat ramp by the old Portland cement wharf. They were removed on Friday at an estimated cost of $7000 to the Northland Regional and Whangarei District Councils. "It's not something ratepayers should have to bear," Mr Howse said. Anyone with information about the dumped tyres should contact the council's 24-hour Environmental Hotline, 0800-504-639.
