A Saxmundham man has landed a criminal record after rubbish containing post addressed to his home was found dumped.

Perry Williams, of Mayflower Avenue, pleaded guilty to an offence of failing to fulfil his duty of care towards household waste.

Suffolk Coastal council brought the case under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Ipswich Magistrates’ Court heard that in March this year 20 sacks of general, unsorted household waste, which were found to have been fly-tipped on land at Bannocks Lane in Cransford, were examined and found to contain post addressed to Williams’ home at the time.

When interviewed at the Suffolk Coastal Norse depot by council officers, Williams stated that he had allowed an unknown person to remove waste from his address in Saxmundham, and admitted that the waste found fly-tipped came from his property.

He also admitted failing to ask what was going to happen to the waste, failing to take any basic details of the identity of the person, and failing to check that the person was an authorised waste carrier.

After he pleaded guilty to breaching his duty of care towards his waste, the court took into account Williams’ circumstances and ordered him to pay compensation of £100.

Carol Poulter, cabinet member for the green environment at Suffolk Coastal, said: “By failing to carry out his basic duty of care checks, this individual’s carelessness lead directly to a significant quantity of his waste being dumped in our beautiful countryside.

“This case serves to show that we will have no hesitation in taking action against anyone found responsible for despoiling our beautiful district.

“I would therefore urge anyone who arranges for any waste to be taken away from their home by anyone other than the council’s service partners Suffolk Coastal Norse or Waveney Norse, to remember the ‘Scrap Code’, to avoid being held responsible, and risk acquiring a criminal record, should their waste end up fly-tipped.”

This included the need to be aware of rogue waste carriers, check identity of those involved, refuse unsolicited offers to have rubbish removed, ask questions about where waste is being taken, to obtain proper paperwork, and to contact the council on 01394 383789 if in doubt.