A man has been ordered to pay more than £700 after his rubbish was found dumped in a ditch.

Council contractors were made aware of the problem in Creeksea Ferry Road, Canewdon, and found some paperwork among the rubbish, which related to a Jonathan Miller.

Miller admitted to Council officers that he had allowed someone to remove several bags of waste from his home address.

He accepted that he had not checked that they held a waste carrier licence and had failed to get proof of the transfer of the waste.

The 22-year-old, of St Thomas Road, Fambridge, subsequently appeared before Southend Magistrates Court where he pleaded guilty to failing to ensure his waste had been transferred to an authorised person.

He was ordered to pay a £100 fine, £100 compensation , £500 costs and a £30 victim surcharge.

Rochford District Council’s Portfolio Holder for Environment, Cllr Dave Sperring, said: “I am extremely grateful to the person who made us aware of this waste, as this was the starting point for our officers to mount an investigation.

"I would urge all residents to report incidents of fly tipping using the ‘report it’ section of our website, as none of us want to see piles of rubbish blighting our communities.

"It is extremely unsightly and it’s a complete waste of tax payer money to have to clean it up.

“It’s important to remember that if you are having any waste removed from your property it is your responsibility to ensure it is disposed of properly. You don’t have to be the person who fly tipped the rubbish yourself, if someone else dumps your waste you could be the one left facing a substantial fine. ”

Legally, house-holders must take reasonable precautions to ensure that unscrupulous trade persons don’t fly tip their waste, under Section 34 (2a) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

It is advisable to ask your builder or handyman what exactly is going to happen to your rubbish and seek evidence that it is going to be disposed of appropriately. Ask for details of their waste carrier registration.

If in doubt check their details with the Environment Agency - it is you that could face a fine of up to £5,000 if your waste ends up fly-tipped and you cannot show that you took reasonable steps to prevent it.

Householders should ensure that all their waste is disposed of via their wheeled bins, the recycling banks around the district, the recycling centres for household waste, or the council’s chargeable bulky waste collection.

Businesses also have a duty to ensure that their waste is stored and disposed of lawfully.

Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 requires businesses to make sure that they only transfer waste onto an authorised person in order to dispose of it correctly.

If you report any cases of fly tipping at rochford.gov.uk/flytipping the rubbish can be removed and with your help the crime can be investigated.

Please take a note of:

• Date, time and place of the incident

• What the waste looks like and how much there

• Descriptions of any person and/or vehicle involved along with the registration number

To arrange a bulky waste collection please visit rochford.gov.uk/contactCS