Wiltshire resident hit with £1,000 fixed penalty notice for fly-tipping mattress

Wiltshire Council has issued a £1,000 fly-tipping fixed penalty notice (FPN) to a Zeals resident following an investigation by Environmental Enforcement Officers.

The fly-tipped mattress was reported to the council in May 2024 by a member of the public, who witnessed it being dumped in a layby off Bells Lane in Zeals. This witness received a reward under the council's We're Targeting Fly-tippers campaign.

Officers conducted a formal interview under caution with the person who was alleged to have dumped the waste, to allow the suspect to explain how this waste was found illegally dumped. They stated that they didn't have time to take it to their local recycling centre and so had fly-tipped it. They also confessed that they acted alone.  

The perpetrator was issued with the new £1,000 FPN, which was introduced by the council for small scale fly-tipping offences committed on or after 23 April, as a greater deterrent to people illegally dumping waste in the county; it was previously £400.

The individual who received the FPN cannot be named as it is not a conviction in court.

Cllr Nick Holder, Cabinet Member for Highways, Street Scene, and Flooding said: I'd like to thank the local resident for reporting the dumped waste to us, as this allowed our officers to investigate and take action.

There is no excuse to fly-tip in our beautiful county and we will continue our zero-tolerance approach towards this unsightly act, in line with our Business Plan commitment.

Our message is clear: we will fine or prosecute anyone caught illegally dumping rubbish in Wiltshire.

The laziness of this person cost them £1,000 and we will continue to target people who commit this environmental crime which is a priority set out in our Business Plan.

If anyone spots fly-tipping in the county, I'd urge them to report it to us using MyWilts.

Anyone who reports a fly-tipper to Wiltshire Council could receive a reward of up to £200 in high street vouchers if the information leads to the successful prosecution of an offender or the payment of a fixed penalty notice.

To find out how to report fly-tipping and more information on the witness reward scheme, people should visit: Fly-tipping