Resident fined for rubbish mountain outside Rossendale home

Rubbish left mounting up outside Nicholas Turner's address in Springfield Avenue, Bacup, included a sofa, cupboads and televisions.

Turner was prosecuted by Rossendale Council and convicted of failing to remove bags of rubbish, which had the potential to attract rats and vermin, and also of failing to take all necessary action to prevent new accumulations of rubbish between dates in October adn December last year.

Magistrates ordered him to pay £1,621 compensation to the authority, and fined him £220 with £580 costs.

His court appearance formed part of a crackdown by the council on flytipping.

Another Bacup householder, Claire Haney, was ordered to pay £71 compensation and fined £40 after she was convicted of failing to remove bags of rubbish, a mattress and general waste between December 2018 and January 2019.

Haney, of Rose Vale Street, Bacup, who was dealt with did not attend court, told magistrates in a letter her wheelie bin kept getting stolen, She also claimed to have health issues and small children and apologised for not clearing the rubbish.

Thomas Loveday, in Co-operation Street, Rawtenstall, was found guilty in his absence at court of abandoning a Vauxhall Corsa on the street on January 24 this year.

He was fined £220 fwith £570 costs and told to pay £225 compensation.

Cllr Jackie Oakes, operations portfolio holder, said: "People who dump rubbish on Rossendale's streets are creating an eyesore in our borough and creating a drain on our resources as it has to be cleared up. It is money that we would much rather be spent in vital areas to help people.

"I am pleased at these fines and I hope they will serve as a deterrent to these people not to do this again, and show to our residents that we will not tolerate this kind of mess on our streets.

"We will take legal action where appropriate. I would like to thank the council officers who worked hard to clean up these messes and to bring the offenders to court."