A woman has been ordered to pay £1,000 after waste was dumped on a County Durham lane.
Responding to a fly-tip in May last year, Durham County Council’s Neighbourhood Wardens found a large amount of waste dumped on Knitsley Lane, Rowley in Consett.
Among the waste, which included a household appliance, furniture and a bike tyre, wardens found an invoice addressed to Donna Adams, 41, of Green Street, Consett.
Wardens attended Adams’s address but there was no answer.
Council tax checks confirmed that the address was correct, and a letter was sent to Adams asking her to contact the local authority about the fly-tip. After no response was received, Peterlee Magistrates Court heard that a notice was issued to the defendant under the Environment Act requesting that she attend an interview to assist with the investigation.
Adams failed to attend the meeting and did not contact the council. Her failure to assist the investigation means the local authority was unable to identify the perpetrator of the fly-tip.
After Adams failed to attend court, the matter was heard in her absence. She was fined £440, ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £176 and ordered to pay further costs of £384.60 In total, she was made to pay £1,000.60.
Ian Hoult, Durham County Council’s neighbourhood protection manager, said: “This prosecution demonstrates that we will not tolerate fly-tipping and the detrimental impact it can have on residents and the environment. We know the vast majority of people take responsibility for their waste and we thank them for doing so. We want the minority to take responsibility too so that cases like this one can be avoided and our beautiful countryside protected.
“There are many ways residents can dispose of their waste correctly, such as the many Household Waste Recycling Centres in the county, or by booking a bulky waste collection. We want this to case to act as a reminder to those who need it that we all have a responsibility to dispose of our waste correctly.”
