Two residents have been fined after repeatedly ignoring warnings to remove piles of bin bags and rubbish from their back yards.
Mark Jones, aged 43, was prosecuted by Bolton Council’s Housing Standards team after they received complaints of more than 30 bin bags in his back yard.
He ignored repeated requests to get rid of the bin bags in the garden of a property in St Helens Road, Rumworth.
The council received a complaint in September and asked Jones to remove the rubbish.
But inspectors found it was still there when they visited in October and they served an official notice requesting that the waste was removed.
A follow-up inspection later in the month confirmed that the waste had not been taken away.
The council was forced to remove it at a cost of £385, which will be recovered from Jones.
He failed to attend court and the matter was proved in his absence. He was found guilty of failing to comply with an abatement notice and was fined £660. He must also pay court costs of £466 and a £66 surcharge.
Collette Walsh, aged 34, of Fifth Avenue, Little Lever has also been fined. She dumped two mattresses, bags of rubbish and furnishings in the rear yard of her rented property.
The council received a complaint in August and wrote to Walsh asking her to remove the waste. An inspection in October confirmed it was still there, despite the request.
She refused to clear it despite warnings and the council had to remove it in October at a cost of £180. The clean-up costs will be recovered from Walsh.
She was fined £660, in her absence, ordered to pay court costs of £301 and a victim surcharge of £66.
Bolton Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing, Cllr Elaine Sherrington, said: “Things like this can really have an impact on local communities. We acted on complaints about both of these properties and we gave both occupiers numerous chances to sort this out and co-operate with us. We would always rather work with residents and it is disappointing that they took no action.
"We are grateful to the public for being vigilant and reporting these cases to us. We will prosecute when requests and warnings are ignored.”
Complaints about waste on private land, including properties, should be referred to the council’s Housing Standards team on 01204 336500.