Sunderland woman used back lane to dump sofa, door and rubbish

Sunderland City Council issued the fine to the resident after a sofa, a door, bags filled with rubbish, plastic and food waste was ditched at the rear of Chilton Street, which runs between Farm Street and Wallace Street in Southwick.

The incident comes just days after the authority sent three vans to the crusher after they were found to be linked to incidents of flytipping.

A spokesperson for the council said: “The fixed penalty notice for a resident who thought her back lane was her own private dustbin.

“It was issued to a householder for depositing a huge amount of household waste at the rear of her property, in the back lane of Chilton Street, Southwick

“If it is not paid, the householder will be prosecuted for fly-tipping at a magistrates court, with the maximum penalty £50,000 or up to a year imprisonment.

"If they plead not guilty or appeal the magistrates' conviction it will progress to crown court, where maximum penalties are unlimited fine and up to five years imprisonment.

"For just £10 we would have removed up to 6 items through our bulky waste collection.”

The Echo runs Cleans Streets, which appeals for people to play a part in making Sunderland cleaner and greener.

The council has also launched a new hard-hitting campaign to target litter problems.

Straight-talking posters bearing the forthright messages 'Don't Be A Stupid Tosser', 'Don't Let Your Crap Be Fly-Tipped' and 'Sort Your S**t Out' are starting to appear on digital ad display boards across the city and social media.

These will be backed up by a zero-tolerance approach, with more enforcement activity and fines for those caught flytipping, littering or letting their dogs foul.

The appeal came in the wake of a number of instances where beaches and parks were left strewn with waste.

People can report flytipping, dog fouling and littering at https://www.sunderland.gov.uk/report-it or by calling (0191) 520 5555.

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