By Property owners fined for leaving heaps of rubbish in Hainton Avenue garden
Two people have been fined nearly £2,000 after dumping armchairs, mattresses, a shopping trolley and a door in a garden on Hainton Avenue.
These items were just some included in the heap of rubbish left in the garden, which enforcement officers from North East Lincolnshire Council were tasked to clear up – costing them the same amount that the couple were eventually fined.
An environmental enforcement officer from NELC visited the property in November last year after a complaint was made, and found rubbish including broken furniture, a tarpaulin, building materials, tree clippings and mattresses piled up in the garden.
Officers sent the owners of the empty property an introductory warning letter on 4 December 2020 followed by a legal notice on 22 December stating that the rubbish had to be removed within 28 days.
But Peter Reid, 58, and Sara Short, 55, of Old School Yard, Redbourne, Gainsborough, ignored the legal warnings.
As a result, in February this year, the Council arranged for the garden to be cleared by a private contractor at a cost of £2,000.
Reid and Short failed to attend Grimsby Magistrates’ Court on 23 July 2021 and were found guilty in their absence.
Owners Peter Reid, 58, and Sara Short, 55 , of Old School Yard, Redbourne, Gainsborough, were punished with fines and court bills totalling £1,894 after ignoring legal warnings to clean up the mess.
The court fined them each £770, imposed a victim surcharge of £77, and ordered them to pay costs of £100, making a total of £947 each.
Councillor Ron Shepherd, portfolio holder for Safer and Stronger Communities, said: “This Hainton Avenue property was a compete eyesore. A massive amount of waste had accumulated in the garden.
“It’s not fair on anyone living near the property to have to put up with such a nuisance. When properties are left in such a state, they can attract fly-tipping and other types of anti-social behaviour.
“After our warnings to clear up the mess were ignored, we arranged for the waste to be disposed of and took the owners to court.”
