A woman has been ordered to pay £1,000 for fly-tipping rubbish just yards from her home in Redbridge.
Bobbie Stacey Russell, 45, was prosecuted by Redbridge Council for dumping her unwanted rubbish on the street she lives on.
The rubbish included household waste bags, clothes, cardboard boxes, and papers.
The council's enforcement team was alerted to the mess and identified Russell as the offender.
An enforcement officer found evidence tracing the rubbish back to a property on the same road.
When asked to explain why the waste had been left on the pavement, Russell initially denied knowledge of the crime but later told the enforcement officer she would clear it up.
However, she failed to do so, leading to a £400 fixed penalty notice (FPN) for fly-tipping.
Despite reminders from the council, the FPN remained unpaid, resulting in Russell being taken to court with a charge of fly-tipping against her name.
On Thursday, January 9, Russell appeared at Romford Magistrates Court, offering a late guilty plea.
The judge ordered her to pay a fine and court and council costs, all totalling £1,000.
Khayer Chowdhury, cabinet member for enforcement and community safety, said: "Dumping rubbish and wrecking our environment is a criminal offence, and we won’t tolerate it as a community.
"The majority of local people care about the borough, but a minority are spoiling it for everyone by leaving their rubbish on the street when there are so many ways to easily dispose of waste in our borough.
"We are working closely with our communities to hold grime crime offenders accountable for their actions and will not hesitate to use the full weight of the law against fly-tippers."
The council has urged residents to find out more about responsible ways to dispose of waste, including Redbridge Council’s bulky waste collection service, which entitles residents to a free collection every 12 months (maximum of three items).
Residents can also report a fly-tip in the borough online through the council’s Report It page.
All fly-tips made known to the council are recorded and investigated, the authority said, with enforcement action being taken if evidence is found.
The council aims to clear all recorded fly-tips on council land and the highway within 24 hours of it being reported.
Share