Aspur of the moment decision and failing to ask the right questions landed a Cadishead woman in trouble for illegal flytipping.
Hannah Lomas, a sales advisor, told council officials she had paid a man £50 to remove the waste, thinking he would take it to the tip and dispose of it responsibly
Instead the cardboard packaging, polystyrene and wood was found dumped at The Peatworks, Cutnook Lane in Irlam and traced back to her.
Miss Lomas aged 29 of Bedford Grove, Cadishead pleaded guilty to one charge of failing in her duty of care under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 by not ensuring the waste was transferred to an authorised waste carrier.
She appeared at Salford and Manchester magistrates court on Wednesday and was fined £196 and ordered to pay a contribution towards costs of £360 and a victim surcharge of £30.
The court heard that when interviewed by council officers Miss Lomas said she got new wardrobes a week before going on holiday and had put the packaging from them in her front garden.
She said normally she would get a skip from a friend to dispose of waste but a man in the street and asked if she needed help with the rubbish. She said she had seen him around a few times before, thought it was an easy way to get rid of the rubbish and paid him £50 in cash.
She admitted she had not asked if he was a registered waste carrier, had not asked for a receipt for her cash and had not asked his name or phone number or made a note of his registration number. As a result, council staff were unable to trace the man leaving Miss Lomas to face the music in court.
Miss Lomas said she had driven around looking for the man and had searched the internet for him but had not found him. She said she felt sorry and stupid because she had not asked relevant questions and had simply assumed the man would take the items to the local recycling centre or tip.
Speaking after the court case Councillor David Lancaster, lead member for environment and community safety, said: “If you are employing someone to remove rubbish for you, you must check they are a registered waste carrier and be certain that they will dispose of it properly. You have a legal duty of care and if you fail to do that and they let you down, the consequences come back on you, as Miss Lomas has found out.
“There is no excuse whatsoever for flytipping and Salford City Council will not hesitate to prosecute where we have evidence.”
The case was brought under Operation Pandora which has seen more than 60 offenders prosecuted for flytipping, with fines, costs recovered and compensation of more than £66,300.
