Two residents have pleaded guilty to fly-tipping, with one man claiming that his rubbish was making his house smell and he didn’t know when it would be collected.

David Ratnam, of Riverdene Road, Ilford, was handed a bill for £315 after dumping two bags of waste in Audrey Road, Ilford, last year.

At Barkingside Magistrates Court last Friday, the 35-year-old said that he regretted his actions, but that the rubbish had started to smell and he didn’t know what day it would be collected.

He was traced after Redbridge Council street workers noticed a man dumping two bags of waste on December 31 last year, and took photographs of the van’s number plate.

He said: “I feel regret for what I have done and I understand it was unacceptable.

“I didn’t know which day my rubbish collection was and I had seen some bags in that area already so decided to leave them there.”

He pleaded guilty and was ordered to pay costs of £300 and a £15 surcharge, and received a one-year conditional discharge.

A woman from Hainault also pleaded guilty after she dumped packaging from a wardrobe and chest of drawers on the corner of her own road.

Council officers traced Ewa Sienicka, 42, from Andrew Close, Hainault, after she left the packaging on the corner of Andrew Close and Laing Close in February this year.

In court, her legal representative said she had paid an unknown youth £10 to have the rubbish taken away.

She had put the rubbish in that spot because that was where he told her to leave it and had no idea that this was an offence.

She was also ordered to pay £300 and a £15 surcharge, and received a one-year conditional discharge.

There have been five convictions for fly-tipping in Redbridge since May this year.

Cllr Ross Hatfull, cabinet member for civic pride, said, “The prosecutions of fly-tippers keep coming and they will continue until these careless and thoughtless individuals get the message – Redbridge is not a place to dump your rubbish.

“These cases go alongside the other work of the enforcement team who are also clamping down on people for littering, and taking action against untidy front gardens.”

If you’ve spotted a fly tipper or have evidence that someone might be fly tipping in Redbridge you can contact the enforcement team by ringing 0208 478 4679 or emailing civicpride@redbridge.gov.uk.