Three Darwen residents fined for dumping rubbish outside their homes

The environmental crime team at Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council have achieved three successful prosecutions recently, totalling almost £2000.

Following reports from the public, three residents in Darwen have been taken to court over waste left outside properties. All three breached a Section 80 notice, which is an Abatement Notice in Respect of a Statutory Nuisance; despite having multiple opportunities to move the waste, following continuous communication from the council.

Higher Church Street, Darwen

Our environmental crime team received a complaint from a neighbour about the build-up of waste in the backyard of a property on Higher Church Street in Darwen. Upon visiting, our environmental crime officer determined that the waste would attract rodents to the property and local area, so a letter was issued to the homeowner, Kelsey Hoole.

The letter stated that the property would be checked again in 14 days. It also explained that if the rubbish is still there, a notice would be served on Kelsey ordering them to clear it up or face the likelihood of prosecution. No response was received to the letter, and the waste was not moved by the deadline.

A section 80 notice was issued which again gave Kelsey 14 days to remove the waste. The notice explained that if they did not comply it would be likely that they are prosecuted. Again, no response was received to the correspondence.

Due to the waste not being moved, the section 80 notice was breached.

Kelsey Hoole received a fine of £220 and costs of £203, plus a victim surcharge of £88.

Laurel Avenue, Darwen

Several complaints were received from multiple residents regarding a huge pile of waste in the back yard of Laurel Avenue, which was obviously going to attract rodents to the property and the local area.

A letter was issued to Josh Kelly, and it was stressed that the waste must be removed within 14 days. The letter also contained the departments contact details if he wished to discuss the matter.

Josh Kelly contacted the office, and a member of staff offered advice and guidance on how Josh could resolve the situation. An appointment was also booked for Josh with the Council’s Environmental Education Team, who would visit the home and give advice on waste and recycling.

However, after several visits to the property and letters left, the team were unable to make contact with Josh.

As the waste was still in place, a section 80 notice was issued. No action was taken over the waste, in fact it was noted by the team that the waste had in fact increased.

Josh Kelly was fined £220, with costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £88.

Redearth Road, Darwen

Following complaints from neighbours and a Councillor about black bag rubbish in front of this property, our environmental crime team visited.

They left letters and visited several times but without any action being taken, a Section 80 notice was served.

Catherine Brownlee received a fine of £660 with costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £264.

The total amount to be paid to the council will be £1,913.

Councillor Jim Smith, Executive Member for Environment and Resident Services said:

It’s crystal clear from these successful prosecutions that we are willing to take action against those who disregard their community and allow waste to build up outside their home.

It’s not just unsightly, it’s a health hazard; and we will not tolerate it in our borough.

With clear guidance of how to recycle your waste available on recyclebwd.org and the offer of our environment team visiting to give advice in person, there really is no excuse.

It’s free to take additional waste to our household waste and recycling centres in the borough, or you can book a collection with the council for as little as £7.50.

Report rubbish in gardens, yards and private property on our website.