How a Cambridge resident paid a £300 fine after allowing someone who called at the door to remove waste

A Cambridge resident has been fined after rubbish was found dumped in Impington following an investigation by South Cambridgeshire County Council.

The resident failed to verify that it would be properly disposed of by allowing someone who called the house to offer waste collection to take the rubbish away.

The illegal fir, near Impington Farm, was reported to the council and officers visited the site shortly afterwards, finding clues that led them to a house in Cambridge.

The owners were formally interviewed under caution and a fixed fine notice of £400 was issued, which was reduced to £300 as it was paid within 10 days.

The offense was the failure to ensure that all reasonable measures were taken to secure the waste or to prevent any other person from committing the offense of carrying the fly with it.

Cllr Henry Batchelor, Principal Cabinet Member for Environmental Services, said: “It is essential that anyone appointed to remove waste is checked against the Environment Agency’s public records on their website, and written documents are conveyed to show what waste is and where it is safely disposed of.

Similarly, it is a legal requirement for all homeowners to take every measure possible to secure their waste until such time as it can be collected by an authorized collector. Failure to do so constitutes a criminal offense and as in this case could result in prosecution or fixed penalty notices of up to 400 pound “.

Cllr Dr Martin Cahn, ward member for Impington, said: “We are delighted to see this incident was dealt with so quickly which resulted in a fixed penalty notice.

Hopefully this will act as a deterrent to anyone else who would consider destroying the beautiful countryside and villages through the antisocial behavior of littering.

“I have been asking about restoring the old Impington Farm building next door as part of Darwin Green’s proposals, and so keeping this area in order is of personal importance. It is critical that people do not see this area, or indeed any sites, as an easy target for tipping moves.”