Swindon householder given Wiltshire's first £1k fly-tip fine
The council increased penalties in April to be a greater deterrent
The first £1,000 fine for fly-tipping has been handed out by Wiltshire Council - less than two months since they increased the penalties for dumping waste illegally.
A Swindon resident has been given the fine, after rubbish left in Royal Wootton Bassett was traced back to an address in the town.
The local authority more than doubled the fixed penalty notices from the previous £400 on April 23rd, with the aim of it being a greater deterrent for fly-tippers.
They've also given out two £400 fines, for offences that happened before the change came into effect.
One of those was given to a former Salisbury resident, for leaving rubbish right outside the Churchfields household recycling centre, in front of an enforcement officer.
The other incident was in Devizes, where a bed base had been left.
Council leader Richard Clewer said, "There is no excuse for dumping waste in our beautiful county and we’ll continue to pursue those responsible for committing this serious offence.
"These new increased penalty charges are a perfect example of our commitment to tackling fly-tipping here in Wiltshire and it sends a clear message to anyone of thinking of doing so.
"We have a zero-tolerance approach towards fly-tipping, as set out in our Business Plan and our award-winning We’re Targeting Fly-tippers campaign, which is why we continue to invest significant sums into officers and technology to tackle this environmental crime.
"If anyone spots fly-tipping in the county, I’d urge them to report it to us using MyWilts and we’ll investigate and take action."