Woman given flytipping fine for box she put outside house

Retired secretary Pamela Holmes left the 4ft 6ins by 4ft 6ins packaging for a hot tub lid on the grass verge right outside her semi-detached property in Burton.

Her son was due to swing by the next day to pick it up and dispose of it.

But overnight a neighbour 'dobbed her in' to the local council and an official arrived at her doorstep at 9.30am the next day after seeing her name and address on the box.

Mrs Holmes, 69, said the officer 'read her her rights' and she feared she was about to be arrested during the doorstep discussion.

He gave her the £400 penalty notice, warning her that if she refused to pay the fine within four weeks she would be taken to court and liable to a maximum fine of £50,000.

Mrs Holmes said she does not want to pay the fine but she also does not want to go to court and get a criminal record as this would embarrass one of her sons, a detective sergeant with Dorset Police.

• Read more: Man who damaged Covid screens at hotel must pay more than £400

She said she was left 'spitting feathers' after the encounter and that if she had been fly-tipping, she would not have dumped something outside her own home with her name and address on it.

Mrs Holmes believes she was an 'easy target' for the official and claimed the council have previously taken days to respond to much bigger incidents of fly-tipping in the area.

The fine given to Pamela Holmes by BCP Council. Picture: BNPS

She said: "The hot tub lid came on Tuesday and we put the cardboard box on the verge outside the house on Wednesday late afternoon so my son could swing by and pick it up to take to the tip.

"However, at 9.30am an official from BCP Council knocked on my door.

"I explained that I had left the box there for my son to pick up and he said, in light of my explanation, he was prepared to leave the matter at a fixed penalty notice.

"When he said it would be for £400, I nearly fainted. The fine has cost almost as much as the hot tub lid."

She added: "I'm spitting feathers about the whole thing. This is a friendly community and I've lived here for eight years with no issues."

• Read more: Two coronavirus lockdown rule breakers took part in flat gathering

A BCP Council spokesperson said: "Our contractors, Waste Investigations Support & Enforcement (WISE), administered the penalty notice on behalf of the council to the resident who had left the large item of waste on a grass verge and public land.

"This was in response to concerns raised in the area about an increase in fly-tipping and officers had advised the resident to follow the appeals process as outlined on the notice should they feel this is incorrect.

"Our action on fly-tipping has increased significantly across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole since August with the partnership clamping down on instances of domestic or commercial waste to make our communities and streets cleaner.

"Inappropriate waste management threatens our environment, climate and public finances and people must act responsibly to help all residents, businesses and visitors in our area."

• Read more: McDonald’s restaurant temporarily closed and pest control called in

Where Pamela Holmes left the cardboard box for her son to take to the tip. Picture: BNPS

Councillor Mark Anderson, portfolio holder for environment, added: "Flytipping is a growing problem for councils across the country which is why we take tough action on flytipping.

"Between August 2021 and December 2021, BCP Council has issued 114 fixed penalty notices for fly tipping offences.

"Not only is it illegal, but it can also cause significant environmental issues and adversely impacts the local landscape.

"In addition, flytipping can create mental health issues for people living next to areas where flytipping is more prolific, so it's vitally important that we tackle this issue head on.

"We want our city region to be world class – one of the best coastal places in the world in which to live, work, invest and play, and as part of our Cleaner, Greener, Safer campaign this pilot will help us work towards this goal."