Wiltshire Council continues zero tolerance clampdown on fly-tippers with fixed penalty notice for Lyneham resident

When interviewed under caution by the council's Environmental Enforcement Officers, the resident admitted to dumping household waste on a highway verge off Chippenham Road, Lyneham.

At £400, the FPN is the maximum amount that can be set by local authorities, though a Government consultation is currently under way with a view to increasing the maximum fixed penalty to £1,000. Wiltshire Council issues FPNs to avoid the need for expensive, time-consuming prosecutions, and to provide a more efficient and proportionate response for smaller scale fly-tipping, such as this incident. However, in larger instances of fly-tipping, the council will prosecute.

Once a fixed penalty is issued, the recipients cannot be named as it is not a conviction in an open court.

Cllr Caroline Thomas, Cabinet Member for Transport, Street Scene and Flooding, said: We're Targeting Fly-tippers here in Wiltshire and this FPN is another example of our zero-tolerance approach. As we have set out in our Business Plan, we will take action against fly-tippers and we will issue FPNs and prosecute.

We provide fortnightly waste collections, a bulky waste collection service and have ten household recycling centres for residents to lawfully dispose of their waste, so there is no excuse for anyone to fly-tip.

We'd encourage anyone who witnesses fly-tipping to report it to us, as our Environmental Enforcement team will investigate all reports and take necessary and proportionate enforcement action. Plus, anyone who reports fly-tipping to us and is willing to assist in our investigation by being a witness could be entitled to 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 an FPN.

To find out more about rewards for reporting fly-tipping and to report it, people should go to Fly-tipping - Wiltshire Council.