A Swindon resident has become the first person to be fined £1,000 for fly-tipping in Wiltshire.

Earlier this year Wiltshire Council introduced a new £1,000 fixed penalty rate for those caught dumping waste in the county on or after April 23.

The first four-figure fine has now been handed out by the council to a Swindon resident after waste found abandoned off Chaddington Lane in Royal Wootton Bassett was traced back to their household.

This offender cannot be named by the council as they were not convicted in court after paying their fine.

The penalty for small scale fly-tipping had previously been £400.

Two £400 fixed penalty notices have also been issued in relation to incidents that took place before April 23.

A fly-tip in SalisburyA fly-tip in Salisbury (Image: Wiltshire Council)

One person from Devizes was fined for dumping a bed base while a Salisbury resident was spotted fly-tipping directly outside the Churchfields household recycling centre in front of an enforcement officer.

The council has introduced the increased punishments in an effort to deter people from illegally dumping their waste around the county.

Cllr Richard Clewer, leader of Wiltshire council, says that enforcement officers will be deployed to target any further offending.

He said: “There is no excuse for dumping waste in our beautiful county and we’ll continue to pursue those responsible for committing this serious offence.

“These new increased penalty charges are a perfect example of our commitment to tackling fly-tipping here in Wiltshire and it sends a clear message to anyone thinking of doing so.

“We have a zero-tolerance approach towards fly-tipping, as set out in our business plan and our award-winning We’re Targeting Fly-tippers campaign, which is why we continue to invest significant sums into officers and technology to tackle this environmental crime.”

A fly-tip in Royal Wootton BassettA fly-tip in Royal Wootton Bassett (Image: Wiltshire Council)

Anybody who witnesses fly-tipping taking place, or sees rubbish left in public places, has been urged to report it to the council. 

Cllr Clewer added: “If anyone spots fly-tipping in the county, I’d urge them to report it to us using MyWilts and we’ll investigate and take action.”

As well as increased fines, the council has received over £46,000 in grant funding to deploy overt CCTV towers at fly-tipping hotspots around Wiltshire.

These towers will be used in tandem with the existing network of overt and covert CCTV cameras that are used to catch offenders committing environmental crimes.