East Yorkshire woman fined after man she hired on Facebook to take away her waste dumped it in the countryside

The woman's garden waste was dumped on a country lane

A woman from Hessle, near Hull, has been fined £200 after a man she found on Facebook dumped her rubbish on a country lane near Driffield.

East Riding Council have chosen not to identify her as she admitted the offence at the first opportunity and the case did not go to court.

Three large cardboard boxes were found fly-tipped on Southburn Road in Kirkburton on July 18 by a member of the public who reported the incident to the council.

An enforcement officer traced the waste to a house in Hessle, and the woman who lived there admitted it was hers.

When questioned, the woman said she had advertised on Facebook selling pages for someone to take away her garden waste. A man answered her advert and she paid him £25 to remove the rubbish. The waste was found dumped the next day.

She was ordered to pay a £200 fixed penalty for failing in her duty of care for not checking she was using a licensed waste collector.

Giving rubbish to unlicensed 'men with a van' traders risks leaving the customer facing liability.

East Riding Council's head of street scene services Paul Tripp said: “The responsibility lies with the resident to make the necessary checks to ensure their waste will be disposed of correctly and legally.

“To help prevent fly-tipping, residents should use properly registered waste carriers, get a receipt and take the person’s details.”

The council also offers a bulky waste collection service, and all residents are permitted to take their own waste to a council-run disposal tip.