A woman has been fined after admitting she paid someone to dispose of her household waste without checking their licence.

Katie Storrar, 28, formerly of Silver End, admitted failing in her duty of care with her waste at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.

On November 18, 2016, a large amount of waste relating to Storrar’s address was found flytipped near to a church in Bradwell.

The court heard how Storrar verbally advised Braintree Council she had paid someone to remove waste from the property, but refused to provide any further information to assist them in identifying the person responsible.

Tope Ojikutu, prosecuting, said: “On November 21 Braintree Council sent a letter to Ms Storrar.

“On November 24 Braintree Council received a phone call where she appeared to be shocked by the letter as she claimed she did not dump any waste.

“Ms Storrar said she had paid someone to take the waste from her and did not fill out a questionnaire sent to her by Braintree Council or attend an interview.”

The court heard how Storrar paid the person between £20 and £40 to remove waste which had built up on her driveway after being evicted.

She believed the person would dispose of the rubbish responsibly, but failed to make any checks.

Sarah Steggles, mitigating, said: “Ignorance is not an offence, but people don’t think they have to ask and check a licence, it’s not common knowledge.

“She told the council what happened therefore didn’t attend an interview as she had nothing to add.”

Storrar was fined £127, ordered to pay costs of £400 and a victim surcharge of £30.

District councillor Richard van Dulken, responsible for environment and lace, said: “These cases send out a clear message that we are not afraid to take legal action against those who make the environment unpleasant by dumping rubbish.

"We encourage residents to use their local household waste recycling centres and to check that people removing waste from their premises are authorised to do so - always ask for their licence number, full address and telephone number.

"We remain committed to tackling fly-tipping in our district and will continue to pursue those who ruin our environment and have no respect for others.”