Fly-tipping fine as council issue £400 penalty notice in Tamworth

Tamworth Borough Council took action after a resident was reported fly tipping a fridge freezer on a grass verge in Amington.

The offender was contacted and given time to remove it but failed to do so and, as a result, a FPN of £400 was issued.

Fixed Penalties were brought in by the government to take cases out of the court system to lessen the impact on the court time.

When an offence is committed and there is enough evidence to prosecute the offender, a Fixed Penalty Notice can be issued, which doesn’t carry a criminal record providing it is paid within the specified timescale.

However, if the offender fails to pay, or chooses not to pay, the council will pursue prosecution at court and, if found guilty of the offence, it is likely that the fine will be much higher than the initial FPN and the offender will then have a criminal record.

Councillor Martin Summers, Cabinet member for Voluntary Sector, Town Centre, Evening Economy & Community Safety, said: “Fly-tipping is not only an eyesore, but also a crime and can lead to a big fine or a prison sentence.

“Residents need to be aware that they run the risk of being prosecuted for fly-tipping, even if they leave items out for scrap collection, who then go on to dump them unlawfully. We would recommend that people to use the council’s bulky waste collection service to get rid of big unwanted household items.

"We also encourage everyone to think about the impact we are having on the environment and be inspired to grab a litter picker and a bag and give even more parks, residential areas and public spaces a good deep clean.”