A fly-tipper was rumbled and forced to pay more than £800 after a document containing her address was carelessly left in the pile of rubbish she dumped. 

Sarah Lamb, of Blenheim Chase, Leigh, dumped a number of black sacks of household waste in Fossetts Way, Southend on August 15, 2017. 

Southend Council’s enforcement officers were alerted to the flytip and discovered evidence of Lamb’s name and address among the waste and she was issued a fixed penalty notice of £80.

However, she failed to pay this fine, which resulted in her facing further action.

A court summons was issued and on February 21 2018, Southend Magistrates’ Court ordered her to pay costs totalling £839 - more than ten times the amount of the original fine. 

Lamb was fined a total of £440, ordered her to pay costs of £355 and a victim surcharge of £44.

Lamb was not the only fly-tipping culprit to be smacked with a fine by magistrates that day.

Italian takeaway restaurant, Mamma Lucia, of 86 Sutton Road, Southend, was hit with a fine after they failed to pay a fixed penalty notice of £300, which they received for failing to provide paperwork known as a waste transfer notice. 

This is required in order to demonstrate that commercial waste is being appropriately and legally disposed of. 

The business was fined £500, costs of £255 and a victim surcharge of £50, bringing the total bill to £805.

Councillor Tony Cox, responsible for transport, waste and regulatory services, spoke of the environmental issues around fly-tipping.

He said: “All of us – both residents and businesses – have a duty to dispose of our waste legally. 

“Fly-tipped waste harms the local environment, causes a public health hazard and blights the local street scene.

“That’s why we prosecute offenders where we have sufficient evidence. 

“In terms of the fly-tipping case, the size of the fine for what was a relatively small amount of fly-tipped waste demonstrates how seriously the courts take this offence. 

“Similarly, the size of the fine for the take-away shows just how important it is for businesses to dispose of waste appropriately and keep their paperwork in order to show they are meeting their duty of care”

You can find out more about residents’ and businesses’ legal duty of care – along with information about other recent prosecutions – at www.southend.gov.uk/wasteenforcement