Five people from County Durham have been left with a combined bill of more than £3,500 after being convicted of waste offences.
The cases of Luke Wake and Shona Alice Leaf, Wayne and Kimberley Brannigan, and Rachel Cant were dealt with at Peterlee Magistrates’ Court following prosecutions by Durham County Council.
Wake, 49, and Leaf, 23, of Redworth Road in Shildon, were each fined £220 for failing to assist an investigation into a fly-tipping incident on land behind their home.
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In November last year, one of the council’s neighbourhood wardens came across 10 black sacks and two carrier bags full of waste at Coltmans Yard whilst out on patrol.
On searching the waste, the warden found evidence linking it to Wake and Leaf and called at their home but received no answer, so put a calling card through their door. When a further call and calling card went unanswered, Wake and Leaf were issued with a notice requiring them to attend an interview at the council offices in January.
And when no response was received to the notice, the council moved to prosecute them both. Wake and Leaf failed to attend court but were found guilty of offences under the Environment Act 1995 in their absence.
They were each ordered to pay costs of £350 plus victim surcharges of £88 in addition to their fines.
Wayne and Kimberley Brannigan, of separate addresses in Main Street, Shildon, were also fined £220 each for failing to assist an investigation into a fly-tipping incident.
In December, council wardens carried out a check on the back yard of a third property on Main Street, where they found dumped waste. On searching the waste, the warden found correspondence connected to both Wayne and Kimberley Brannigan.
And when calls, contact cards and a request to attend interviews went unanswered, the council prosecuted the pair.
Wayne Brannigan, 35, and Kimberley Brannigan, 38, failed to attend court but were found guilty of offences under the Environment Act 1995 in their absence. On top of the fines, they were each ordered to pay costs of £350 plus victim surcharges of £88.
Cant, 25, of Ash Grove in Spennymoor, was prosecuted after an investigation into a fly-tip off Dale Road, near the Locomotion railway museum in Shildon, in July last year. On searching the dumped waste, council officers found documents bearing Cant’s name and address.
At interview in January, she admitted to dumping the waste and said she’d driven to two household waste and recycling centres but had found them closed.
Cant attended court, where she pleaded guilty to a fly-tipping offence. In mitigation, she said she did try to dispose of the waste responsibly, has no idea why she tipped it, and has never done anything like this before.
Cant was fined £276 and ordered to pay £500 costs as well as a £110 victim surcharge.
Ian Hoult, neighbourhood protection manager at Durham County Council, said: “As we keep saying, there’s no excuse for fly-tipping. That also applies to refusing to help us when we’re carrying out investigations into fly-tipping.
“In the cases of Wake, Leaf, and the Brannigans, we’ve seen that failing to help our officers with their investigations is not enough to escape prosecution, nor is failing to turn up at court.
“And in the case of Cant the overriding message is that your waste is your responsibility. If you can’t dispose of it responsibly at a certain time or place, hang on to it until you can and under no circumstances just dump it somewhere you shouldn’t.
“Fly-tipping is an issue we know our residents feel very strongly about and we always encourage people to report any incidents to us, as well as any information or intelligence that might help us track down those responsible.”
Earlier this year, the council confirmed fly-tipping in the county is at its lowest level ever, while the number of fines issued has increased.
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