A fine mess

MARIA Fogre, of Hollins Road was given a fine of £220 plus £479.52 costs and a £30 victim surcharge after leaving waste behind her property

FLYTIPPERS who flouted the law and dumped piles of waste in alleyways have been prosecuted by Oldham Council.

The council is urging residents to do their bit to tackle the issue and report people they spot dumping waste in their community.

Charlene Brennan (31), of Saxon Street, Oldham, was fined £220 with costs of £300 and a £30 victim surcharge, after council enforcement officers discovered the waste she had dumped in the alleyway behind her home on September 21, 2016.

Officers also found waste in the same alleyway the following day and traced it to Gheorge Sorica, also of Saxon Street. He was also fined £220 with costs of £300 and a £30 victim surcharge.

Maria Fogre (32), of Hollins Road was given a fine of £220 plus £479.52 costs and a £30 victim surcharge after leaving waste behind her property.

Enforcement officers were also able to gather evidence from dumped waste on September 23, which led to the prosecution of Stefan Florin Oros, of Ethel Street. He was fined £220 with £479.52 costs and a £30 victim surcharge.

Anna Ondova, of Horsedge Street was also handed an £80 fine with £250 costs and a £30 victim surcharge for leaving waste in an alleyway which was found by enforcement officers on September 28 last year.

Councillor Barbara Brownridge, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Co-operatives, said: "Nearly every day we see articles or photographs in the local media of waste that has been dumped or left for someone else to clear up.

"It's easy to blame the dumping of waste on changes to the frequency of bin collections, but that simply isn't true - as these prosecutions show the waste was dumped before the introduction of the new bin arrangements last October.

"Unfortunately fly-tipping and the dumping of waste is an age-old problem.

"We are doing our bit to tackle the issue but irresponsible people aren't cleaning up after themselves and are continuing to dump household items, such as mattresses.

"It's not the council which is dumping the waste, it's your neighbour or someone coming from outside, leaving the blight in your area or on your street.

"We are the ones clearing it up and in doing so it costs almost £1m a year - money which could be better used on other services for residents.

"We need residents to work with us on this.

"If you see anyone dumping waste report it to us and we will investigate and prosecute if we find evidence.

"We'd like to see people who fly tip and dump waste given stiffer penalties but that is down to the courts, not us."

Three residents were also fined a total of £1,180 in fines, costs and victim surcharges for dropping cigarette butts in Oldham town centre.

The trio had failed to pay £80 fixed penalty notices (FPNs).

Two landlords were also found guilty in their absence of ignoring Oldham Council's Selective Licensing scheme despite receiving repeated reminders.

Mohammed Talukder, of Antrim Road, Belfast failed to apply for a licence for a property on Horsedge Street and was fined £1,000 with £750 costs and a £100 victim surcharge.

Rafique Uddin, of Hill Top Drive, Royton was fined £1,000 with £750 costs and a £100 victim surcharge for failing to apply for a licence for a property on Horsedge Street.

Councillor Brownridge continued: "With regard to landlords, our advice is simple - if you are in one of the eight selective licensing areas you need to get in touch with us and get a licence.

"By working together we can improve our neighbourhoods."

To contact the landlord licensing team email landlordlicensing@oldham.gov.uk or call 0161 770 2244.

To report flytipping or the dumping of waste visit www.oldham.gov.uk or call 0161 770 2244.