Garden waste lands Swarcliffe woman in a mess

A woman from Swarcliffe has been fined for allowing waste to accumulate in her garden.

Paige Blackman, Farndale View pleaded guilty when she appeared before Leeds magistrates on April 5 and was fined £200, given a 12 month conditional discharge and ordered to pay a £15 victim surcharge.

Blackman ended up in court as she ignored advice and requests from council environmental action officers to clear accumulations of waste and litter building up in her garden.

Environmental action officers intervened following complaints and having issued the necessary warning letters, they issued a community protection notice to compel Blackman to take appropriate action and clear up the waste.

Community protection notices direct people to stop causing a problem that is having a detrimental impact on the quality of life of people in their neighbourhood.

As the notice was also ignored, Blackman was issued with a £100 penalty notice.

The penalty notice remained unpaid so Blackman was prosecuted.

Councillor Mark Dobson, executive member for environmental protection and community safety, said:

“Community protection orders are another tool our environmental action officers can use to help clean up and protect our communities.

“You might not think that storing waste in your garden is an issue, but you can’t underestimate the impact this will have on your neighbours.

“Although we’d much prefer it if people took appropriate action to help maintain their neighbourhood, we won’t hesitate to prosecute when we have to.”

For media enquiries please contact:

Amanda Burns, Leeds City Council press office (0113) 395 1577

email: amanda.l.burns@leeds.gov.uk