THREE women have been ordered to pay penalties of up to £300 for each dumping rubbish in back alleys.

The women from Goole are the first three to have action taken against them by East Riding of Yorkshire Council following an increase in fly-tipping and left waste in the Goole area during the Covid-19 lockdown.

A number of warning letters have also been sent to other addresses in Goole following action by the council’s streetscene enforcement team, which has continued to respond to reports and carry out visits during the lockdown.

In the first incident, two fridges, bags of household waste and cardboard boxes were found dumped at the back of Marlborough Avenue, in the town on May 18 this year.

Enforcement officers linked evidence to a nearby address. A woman at that address admitted leaving the waste in the back alley and said she had the intention of having it removed, but arrangements to collect it fell through and the items were left there.

The woman was issued with a £300 fixed penalty for the offence, and the waste was cleared by the council.

In the second incident, on May 20, enforcement officers responding to a complaint visited council-owned garages in Moorland Road, Goole, where they found four bags of household waste including used nappies dumped at the site.

Evidence related to an address in Goole. The female resident said she had some waste to clear from her garden during the lockdown and when a friend offered to put the rubbish into bins belonging to someone else, she reluctantly agreed.

The bags were later found at the garage site in Moorland Road.

The woman was issued with a £200 fixed penalty for a duty of care offence and the waste was removed by the council.

A pile of rubbish was found dumped in an alley behind Manuel Street, Goole, in the third incident on 28 May, following a complaint of persistent fly-tipping.

A vacuum cleaner, a wooden table, a wooden unit, a baby bath, a moses basket, a pink laundry basket, bamboo fencing, cardboard boxes and a bag of waste was discovered by enforcement officers.

After an investigation, a woman at a Goole address admitted to leaving the waste in the street and she had seen other people do the same.

She was issued with a £300 fixed penalty for the offence, and the council removed the waste.

Following reports of further dumped waste in Eastgate, Gordon Street, Gray Street, Weatherill Street, Jackon Street, Jefferson Steet and Marlborough Avenue, the council has sent warning letters to a number of addresses.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council continues to remind residents they are responsible for disposing of their own waste properly and legally – either by using their household bins, taking it to their local household waste recycling site or using the council’s bulky waste service.

Paul Tripp, head of streetscene services at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: “Even though we’re in lockdown, that’s no excuse for residents to ignore their responsibilities and dump waste.

“That is still illegal and we will continue to investigate all reports of fly-tipping and littering and take the necessary enforcement action.”