A WOMAN must pay more than £200 after she failed to check a person getting rid of her waste was legally registered – before her rubbish was then fly-tipped.

Rachel Matthews agreed to let someone else get rid of her rubbish, of drink cans and food containers wrapped in carrier and bin bags, in June 2018, which was then dumped in bushes along Grateley Drove.

Matthews, of Porton Road, Amesbury appeared at Basingstoke Magistrates Court on December 20, and was ordered to pay £210 including a fine, victim surcharge and costs.

The fly-tip was reported to Test Valley Borough Council on June 28 and officers cleared the waste and began investigating the same day. The person who illegally dumped the waste was not identified.

Environmental portfolio holder, councillor Graham Stallard said: “I hope this particular case serves as a strong reminder to people that they are responsible for their own waste.

“It is absolutely fine to arrange for someone to come and collect your waste for you but that does not mean your responsibility ends there. You must ensure that person or company is a registered waste carrier.

“Ignorance of the law is absolutely no excuse.”

Check whether a carrier is licensed at hants.gov.uk/fly-tipping.