Fines handed out after rubbish is left in Sunderland streets

Council chiefs say that they have identified people leaving unwanted items in the Hendon area of the city.

In April, CCTV footage was provided which showed a man aged about 65 leaving a small unit, plastic trolley and cardboard boxes to the rear of Tower Street West, Hendon.

Enquiries revealed that the property had recently become vacant as the occupant had recently moved to an address in Silksworth.

An Environmental Enforcement Officer visited the man at his new address in Silksworth and interviewed him under caution.

He admitted depositing the items, claiming that he had always done so in the past, explaining that the Council Cleansing van always took the waste away and he didn’t realise he was doing wrong.

As a result of the cooperation with the Environmental Enforcement Team on this occasion and the admission of guilt, the man was fine for £75 for littering, which was accepted.

Later the same month, as part of a routine patrol, Fly-Tip Investigation Officers found around 20 to 30 black bags containing garden and household waste left in the back lane of Hendon Burn Avenue, Hendon.

An inspection of the waste found evidence in one of the plain white carrier bags, relating to a Hendon Burn Avenue address, but also recorded that all the black bags mainly contained garden waste and no evidence could be identified.

The evidence was photographed for investigation purposes and all waste was removed.

The case was referred to the Environmental Enforcement Team for further investigation and action.

As a result of the evidence received, the householder of the property was identified and was invited to attend a formal interview under caution.

During the interview, the man admitted to opening his back gate to find a large quantity of black and white carrier bags, containing what appeared to be garden waste, left at the back of his home overnight.

The man explained he did not have a garden to the back of his property, only a tarmac yard and was unable to provide any information as to where this waste had come from.

On further questioning he explained his green household bin was full at the time and he had excess waste as he didn’t have a blue recycling bin at the time, and admitted leaving five plain white carrier bags to the left hand side of the waste already there.

He was found to be guilty of a littering offence and was offered the opportunity to pay a fixed penalty notice of £75 as an alternative to prosecution, which was accepted.

The man has also been served a formal notice providing information on the correct manner for future disposal of household waste.

The Echo’s Clean Streets campaign is calling on Wearsiders to be more responsible for their own waste in an effort to build a cleaner, more inviting and more welcoming city.

Anyone who sees items they think have been fly-tipped on a street or green space can contact Sunderland City Council to arrange its removal either by reporting it online at sunderland.gov.uk or by calling 0191 520 5550.