A Chester woman has been ordered to pay fines totalling £450 after being found guilty of fly-tipping.

Layla Jane Riley, 30, of Sherwood Road, Blacon, claimed she gave four large black bin bags and other items including a large bed frame to 'a man in a white van'. But soon after, the rubbish was found dumped on Poplar Hall Lane in Chester.

An investigation was started in October last year when Cheshire West and Chester Council received a report of alleged fly-tipping.

The waste found on Poplar Hall Lane consisted of the four large black bin bags – all full of domestic waste – along with two large white coloured paint pots, a large silver metallic bed frame and a large curtain rail with a red curtain attached.

Regulatory Services Officers examined the fly-tipped waste and it was traced back to Riley.

In November last year, Riley was interviewed by officers and confirmed that the waste did belong to her.  She also stated that she gave the waste to a man in a white van, who she found in her garden after returning from the local shops. 

She claimed she paid him £30 to remove the waste but recorded no details of the individual and also did not check if he had the relevant authority to remove or carry domestic waste.

On Thursday, November 30, Riley failed to appear before Chester Magistrates’ Court and a warrant was issued for her arrest.

She was arrested the following day and appeared before magistrates where fines and costs were imposed totalling £450. Riley received a fine of £120 for the fly-tipping duty of care offence, and was also ordered to pay costs of £300 and a victim surcharge of £30. 

She was prosecuted by Cheshire West and Chester Council under the Duty of Care provision in the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

The council’s cabinet member for Environment, councillor Karen Shore, said: “In this case the defendant failed to ensure her household waste was transferred to an authorised person, this resulted in her domestic waste being illegally fly-tipped. 

“The occupier of any domestic property in England or Wales has a duty of care to dispose of their household waste properly.

“Following on from previous successful prosecutions, hopefully this case will act as a deterrent to potential offenders and make them think twice before fly-tipping waste.”

If you discover illegal tipping of waste or see it being tipped, you can report it 24 hours a day on the council’s website (search ’fly-tipping’), on the Your Streets website (www.westcheshireyourstreets.co.uk), via Twitter (@Go_Cheshirewest), or in person at any of the council’s Customer Service Centres.