Man fined for dumping waste in lane behind his house

We took legal action against Steven Black, of Temperance Terrace in Ushaw Moor, after a neighbourhood warden spotted ten black bags of waste in the yard of his house which had the potential to pose an environmental health risk.

Notice issued

Black was issued with a Community Protection Notice ordering him to remove the waste from the yard within two weeks.

However, at the end of the notice period, the warden returned to find the bags had been moved to a back lane behind the property.

One week later, the warden carried out a revisit and found the waste had not been removed from the lane.

Black, 54, was issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice of £400 which he failed to pay.

Court hearing

He pleaded guilty at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates Court to dumping waste on public land without an environmental permit.

He was ordered to pay a £480 fine, £300 costs, and a £48 victim surcharge.

Ian Hoult, our neighbourhood protection manager, said: "This case demonstrates how important it is for residents to make sure they correctly dispose of their waste. Dumping waste in a residential area has a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of the surrounding community, and can be easily avoided by using the correct disposal services.

"Every resident is responsible for ensuring their own waste is disposed of correctly. We treat incidences of fly tipping very seriously, and will take action against those who are found to be dumping waste illegally."