Northampton woman lands £1,100 court bill five days before Christmas for putting out rubbish sack two days early

Three people have been fined by magistrates for leaving rubbish in Northampton

A woman who left a single sack of rubbish on a street two days before collections were due was hit with an £1,100 court bill five days before Christmas.

Neighbourhood wardens found the sack in a Northampton street on August 16 and identified it as belonging to Chloe Page, aged 23. Page failed to pay a £150 fixed penalty for fly-tipping so wound up with a court summons.

Page failed to appear at Wellingborough Magistrates’ Court on December 20 but was found guilty in her absence, fined £250 and ordered to pay a £100 surcharge to fund victim services and £750 towards the council’s prosecution costs..Two more residents convicted of fly-tipping were:

■ Piles of sacks, cardboard, broken up pallets, a mattress and other rubbish found by wardens near a litter bin at the junction of Bailiff Street and Lorne Road on June 30 was identified as belonging to 22-year-old Exauce Kuri of Bailiff Street. He was found guilty in his absence, fined £250 and ordered to pay costs of £750 plus a £34 victim.

■ Dana Paltere, aged 28 of York Road, was fined £73 and ordered to pay £250 costs and a victim surcharge of £79 after she pleaded guilty of dumping refuse bags by a footpath at the back of the Abington Place car park which wardens found on 20 June.

Cllr David Smith, council cabinet member for regulatory services, said: “The vast majority of people make the effort to dispose of their waste properly.

“However, a minority of people choose to dump waste on our streets, we are determined to stamp out this environmental crime and should people not abide by the rules they should not be surprised to receive a fixed penalty notice or fine through the door.

“If they do not pay the fine, they could face prosecution for the offence.”

West Northamptonshire recently launched a fly-tipping charter setting out how the council will work to reduce fly-tipping, backed by a robust enforcement policy to discourage and prosecute offenders. The new charter complements the existing litter Charter, which was launched last summer to ensure the council takes a coordinated approach to tackling litter across West Northants.