Three filthy Wigan residents who failed to clear up piles of rotting waste are punished by the courts

In both cases – one in Ince and another in Wigan – they refused to comply with a Community Protection Notice (CPN) which required them to remove the rubbish from their rear yards.

Wigan Council has launched a crackdown on environmental crime, with efforts being made to ensure those responsible for illegal activity face consequences.

Coun Paul Prescott, cabinet portfolio holder for environment, said: “We’re very appreciative of our network of proud communities and the majority who contribute to keeping their neighbourhoods clean and tidy.

“But there is a small minority who take the decision to flout the law, posing a risk to public health and our environment and take up valuable resources.”

One of the cases related to two residents at the same property who failed to attend court after refusing to comply with a CPN.

Among the waste in their garden were 46 bin bags, a leather chair and sofa and a fridge-freezer.

Two occupants were each fined £440 and required to pay a £44 victim surcharge and £90 court costs.

The second case, in Ince, required the resident to pay £1,494 within 28 days.

Coun Prescott added: “Environmental crime blights our communities and won’t be tolerated here in Wigan borough – these recent cases show that we are serious about tackling the issue.”

The crackdown on illegal activity includes a focus on fly-tipping.

Across the borough, the fly-tipping of household waste accounts for the biggest proportion of rubbish having to be removed from council land, with commercial and building waste also playing a part.

Enforcement teams regularly visit fly-tipping hotspots and other action is being taken to tackle the issue like the installation of covert CCTV cameras in areas where there is a high level of environmental crime.

Fly-tipping includes leaving items beside street bins and recycling banks, on the floor of communal bin areas, outside closed recycling centres and charity shops and anywhere that isn’t a registered waste facility or container.

If you have a build-up of waste, the council has recycling centres at Kirkless, Slag Lane and Chanters and a free bulky waste collection service.

Find out more > www.wigan.gov.uk/recycling

Residents are encouraged to report any accumulation of waste within the boundary of a property on the Reportit app or report fly-tipping using the Myaccount service.

https://www.wigan.gov.uk/Report-it/Report-a-problem.aspx