Dumped shopping bags full of rubbish prove costly for Royal Wootton Bassett resident

A Royal Wootton Bassett resident has been issued with a £400 fixed penalty notice (FPN) by Wiltshire Council for dumping their household waste.

The six carrier bags of waste were found dumped on a public footpath on Aspen Close in the town after being reported by residents.

The culprit responsible was interviewed under caution by the council's Environmental Enforcement Officers and admitted to the offence. They could give no reasonable explanation as to how the waste became fly-tipped in the area, which was some distance from their own property.

Cllr Dr Mark McClelland, Cabinet Member for Waste, said: Whether it's in the Wiltshire countryside or in our towns, villages or city, We're Targeting Fly-tippers and we will take action to catch offenders.

The perpetrator of this fly-tip could have easily taken their waste to the local household recycling centre or used their own household waste or recycling containers to lawfully dispose of his waste. Instead, they chose to dump the waste and will now pay the £400 fixed penalty notice.

As set out in our business plan, we are committed to tackling fly-tipping in Wiltshire, and as part of our We're Targeting Fly-tippers (WTF) campaign, we have invested a significant sum into more cameras and staff to catch these environmental criminals.

We will prosecute anyone who thinks it is acceptable to dump their waste in our beautiful county.

People issued with a fixed penalty cannot be named for legal reasons as it is not a conviction in the law courts.

To find out more about the We're Targeting Fly-tippers campaign, people should go to We're Targeting Fly-tippers.