Woman fined for failing to make sure 'man with wheelbarrow' was authorised waste handler
A woman who failed to pay a £200 fine after her waste was fly tipped has been ordered to pay almost £1,500 by a court.
In August 2025 Bradford Council received a report of waste that had been fly tipped on land at Bramley Street, off Manchester Road.
After visiting the site, Environmental Health officers saw various bags of household waste.
One item in the waste was packaging from an online delivery that included the address of Tasmin Simpson, of Bramley Street.
On Monday Simpson, 37, was due to appear at Bradford Magistrates Court to answer a charge of failing to take measures that her waste was properly disposed of.
She did not attend court, and the case was heard in her absence.
Joanne Gleeson, prosecuting on behalf of Bradford Council, said a £200 fine had been issued because Simpson had failed to “take measures to secure that the transfer of household waste is authorised.”
Explaining the charge, she said: “If someone knocks at your door and says they’ll take a certain amount of money to remove your waste, the resident has to take reasonable care that they are authorised to do so.
“In this case Mrs Simpson didn’t do that.”
She told magistrates that Simpson was sent a questionnaire by the council after the waste was discovered and removed.
Mrs Gleeson said: “In her response she admitted that she instructed an individual to remove waste from her property for £40. She didn’t obtain any details from the individual, or receive a receipt.”
In October 2025 Simpson was issued with a fixed penalty notice of £200, which would rise to £250 if it was not paid in a timely manner.
Reminder letters were sent the following month, but no response was received.
An officer visited her property in March where they agreed to give her a further seven days to pay the fine. The council has not heard from her since.
Mrs Gleeson acknowledged the amount of waste was “on the low end of the scale.”
She said: “She has said that it wasn’t all her waste. She said the individual came to her house with a wheelbarrow.”
Mrs Gleeson added: “She has had numerous opportunities to contact the council, and has failed to do that. She had the opportunity to pay a £200 fine at one stage, and she has been given extensions to pay.”
The court was told the case has cost the taxpayer £869 to investigate and prosecute. Magistrates found Simpson guilty in her absence.
She was given a £440 fine and ordered to pay a court surcharge of £176. Magistrates also agreed that she should pay the full £896 in council costs, for a total of £1,485.