FLY-TIPPING will not be tolerated in Rugby borough warn council chiefs.
The warning comes after Rugby Borough Council secured two convictions.
A couple from Rugby suspected of fly-tipping were fined after failing to co-operate with a council investigation.
John Hall and Amy Rankin, of Newbold Road, were contacted by officers from the council’s environmental protection team following a report of fly-tipping at Burnside Open Space.
The fly-tip of household items included a vacuum cleaner, children’s toys and a chair, with items thrown into a hedge and brook.
During a search of the dumped waste, officers found evidence linking the fly-tip to the couple, and a check of council tax records showed both lived in Newbold Road.
The council wrote inviting the couple to attend a voluntary interview at the town hall.
When neither responded, the couple were served with a notice under section 108 of the Environment Act 1995, requiring both to attend an interview under caution.
But when neither attended the interview, the council prosecuted the couple for failing to comply with the notice.
Hall and Rankin failed to attend a hearing at Nuneaton’s Warwickshire Justice Centre but the couple, both aged 34, were found guilty by magistrates.
Hall was fined £440 and was ordered to pay £585 costs and a £44 victim surcharge, while Rankin was fined £440 and was ordered to pay £550 costs and a £44 victim surcharge.
And in a separate case, Gina-Vasilica Duta was found guilty in her absence of failing to comply with a notice served under section 108 of the Environment Act 1995.
Duta, of Holmsdale Road, Coventry, was contacted by the council’s environmental protection team following a fly-tip on the Fosse Way, Stretton-under-Fosse.
She was sent a letter to attend an informal interview after a bank card bearing the Duta name was found in the dumped rubbish.
The council served the notice after Duta did not respond to the letter.
And when she failed to attend an interview under caution, the council prosecuted her for failing to comply with the notice.
Magistrates fined Duta £440 and ordered her to pay the council’s costs of £619. She was also ordered to pay a £44 victim surcharge.
Borough environment spokeswoman Lisa Parker said: “We investigate all fly-tipping incidents reported in the borough and, when we find evidence which could help us identify the culprits, we carry out interviews to gather more information.
“The majority of people help our investigations voluntarily and on occasion there’s an innocent explanation for how the evidence came to be discovered in fly-tipped rubbish.
“But the law gives us powers to compel individuals and businesses to attend interviews under caution, and ignoring a notice served under these powers can prove a costly mistake.”
Residents can report fly-tipping incidents to the council by by completing the online form at www.rugby.gov.uk/flytipping or calling 01788 533533.
