A woman has been hit with a £600 penalty after she paid a 'man in a pick-up' £60 to dispose of her waste correctly.
The woman of Meir in Staffordshire told investigators from Stafford Borough Council that she had handed over £60 to a man driving a pickup truck who had appeared at her door offering waste removal services.
However, her black bin bags containing domestic waste were subsequently found strewn across fields in the village of Cotwalton, near the town of Stone.
Enquiries are still ongoing to find the driver of the fly tipping incident.
In a separate incident, a second woman has also received an identical £600 fixed-penalty notice, bringing the combined fines to £1,200.
The Ellesmere Port resident's waste was traced after items including a mattress, curtain rails and cardboard boxes were discovered abandoned in a layby along the A519 at Hanchurch.
She informed council officers that she had paid £150 in cash to a removal firm driver she had engaged to assist with relocating to a new property.
Both cases were prosecuted by Stafford Borough Council, with the authority confirming that investigations remain active to identify the individuals who carried out the illegal dumping.
The rubbish was dumped in Cotwalton
|STAFFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL
Both women were issued fixed-penalty notices under household duty of care regulations, which place legal responsibility on householders to ensure their waste is disposed of correctly.
Even though neither woman personally dumped the rubbish, they were held liable for failing to verify that the individuals they paid were licensed waste carriers.
The council has emphasised that using unregistered operators to remove household waste can result in significant financial penalties or even criminal prosecution for the householder.
Stafford Borough Council continues to pursue leads in both cases, with enquiries ongoing to identify and locate the drivers who actually carried out the fly-tipping offences in recent weeks.
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The mattress was left near Hanchurch
|STAFFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL
Councillor Ian Fordham, the cabinet member for environment at Stafford Borough Council, issued a stark warning to residents about the consequences of using unlicensed waste removal services.
"Fly tipping, littering and other environmental crimes are a blight on our communities," he said.
"They can cause environmental damage, they attract anti-social behaviour, make areas look untidy, and have an adverse impact on the quality of life for our residents."
He cautioned that while paying someone to take away rubbish might appear to be a cost-effective solution, householders risk fines or prosecution if the person they hire is not a registered waste carrier.
Councillor Fordham urged anyone with information about fly-tipping to contact the council, adding: "We will always pursue those intent on rubbishing our borough."