Fly-tipping costs Rochdale duo £1,379

Fly-tipping from James Rigby

Rebekah Edmundson, 34, of Belfield Road appeared before Manchester and Salford Magistrates’ Court last month and pleaded guilty to fly-tipping.

The court heard that in September 2017 the council received a report of fly-tipped waste to the rear of Belfield Road, Rochdale. Enforcement officers found evidence linking the household waste to Edmundson.

Edmundson failed to attend an interview with the council but told the court that she had intended to employ somebody to remove the waste for her but that the council got there before she could do so. She was fined £210 by magistrates and ordered to pay court costs of £350 and a victim surcharge of £30 - a total penalty of £590.

Hiring a man with a van to get rid of household waste has cost James Rigby, 50, of Turf Hill Road, £789 in fines and associated costs after the rubbish ended up fly-tipped on public land.

The mess was reported to us in July 2018, investigators picked through the waste fly-tipped at Brookland Street and linked it back to him.

On 14 August 2018 the court was told that Rigby failed to check the driver had a licence to carry waste or to find out where it was going to end up.

Rigby pleaded guilty and told the court that he had some excess household waste which he paid an unknown individual £5 to remove for him.

Residents who hire rogue waste collectors without a licence to transport and dispose of waste, commit a criminal offence.

The evidence proved enough for council investigators to secure convictions in both cases and Edmundson and Rigby are now £1,379 out of pocket.

Councillor Neil Emmott, the council’s cabinet member for environment, said: “Sadly some people still think they can dispose of rubbish however they want, causing problems for residents and draining council services. Unfortunately for them, we have a robust processes of investigating all reports of fly-tipping and take action against offenders whenever possible. 

“We all have a part to play to ensure that our borough is a clean place for everyone to enjoy and I would encourage anyone who sees fly-tipping to report this to us via rochdale.gov.uk/flytipping or to call 0300 303 8884.”