Three Fined Following Flytipping and Waste Incidents
Three South Tyneside residents have been ordered to pay fines and costs totalling almost £3,000 after ignoring orders to clear up waste or to answer questions about flytipping.
David Elliott, of Northbourne Road, Jarrow, was fined £660 in his absence after he failed to comply with a Community Protection Notice served on him in August this year.
The council was left with no choice but to take legal action after he failed to adhere to the notice, which required him to clean up dog faeces which were accumulating in his back garden following multiple complaints about the 'unbearable' smell.
He was also ordered to pay a £264 victim surcharge and £100 costs.
In another case, rubbish found fly tipped on Cleadon Hills led to a £480 fine for Stephen Pearson.
The 59-year-old of South Crescent, Boldon Colliery, was also ordered to pay £100 costs and a £192 victim surcharge.
The court heard how bags of waste including wood and a bathroom sink were found dumped illegally in August. Identification relating to Pearson was found amongst the rubbish.
The Council took him to court after he failed to make himself available to answer questions regarding the abandonment of the waste - an offence under section 110 of the Environment Act 1995.
Kevin Paul, of Don View, West Boldon, was fined £660 following a fly tipping incident at Green Lane, South Shields, in July this year.
Officers investigating the incident discovered the same vehicle, which was registered to Paul, had been used during an earlier fly tipping incident, which was caught on CCTV.
He was also ordered to pay a £264 victim surcharge and £100 costs.
Cllr Jim Foreman, Lead Member for Housing and Community Safety, said: "We will always take action against people who fail to clean up after themselves, or dump waste and we hope these fines act as a deterrent to anyone thinking of acting in such a selfish manner.
"Rubbish left lying around is not only unsightly and unpleasant, it can also be hazardous because it can attract vermin.
"All the waste has since been removed by South Tyneside Council's abandoned waste team at the taxpayers' expense
"Members of the public can help by being our eyes and ears and reporting any incidents to the council so we can investigate."
The Council spends more than £2m a year keeping the Borough clean and tidy and the illegal disposal of waste places an additional burden on taxpayers.
To report fly-tipping contact South Tyneside Council's Customer Contact Centre on (0191) 427 7000. All calls will be treated in the strictest confidence. Alternatively Report It online via the Council's website at www.southtyneside.gov.uk/reportit
Further information about the safe and responsible disposal of waste can also be found at www.southtyneside.gov.uk/wasteandrecycling