The owner of a horse livery yard in Surrey was saddled with a £900 fine after East Hampshire District Council investigated a fly-tip at Whitehill Cemetery.

Emma Wickerson (26), of Horsham Road, Surrey, pleaded guilty at Basingstoke Magistrates Court to failing to ensure her waste was removed by a licensed carrier.

The waste, one ton of bags stuffed with equestrian items and household refuse, was subsequently dumped at Whitehill Cemetery in January 2019.

East Hampshire District Council investigated the tip and officers were able to trace it back to the livery yard.

Wickerson was formally interviewed and accepted she paid a carrier £80 to remove the waste but had not checked to make sure the carrier was licensed. The carrier could not be traced by officers.

She was fined £900 and ordered to pay a £90 victim surcharge, £100 costs and £440 compensation to EHDC.

Sonja Reames, EHDC environmental officer, who conducted the investigation, said: "The law is quite clear on this subject - a person has a clear duty of care to ensure their waste is disposed of properly.

“The only way to ensure this duty is discharged is to use a licensed waste carrier and to demand a written waste transfer note from them before the waste is removed.”

Natalie Meagher, Head of Service for Neighbourhood Support at East Hampshire, said: “The illegal dumping of waste is unfortunately a story that we are all too familiar with. Fly-tipping on all levels is a blight on the landscape in which we live and work.

“In response to this, EHDC’s Neighbourhood Quality team has worked hard over the last couple of years to develop effective, responsive processes to ensure that, wherever possible, investigations into fly-tipping are undertaken and prosecutions brought to court.”

The people nominated to stand in the General Election on Thursday 12 December have been announced.

See the candidates standing in the Hampshire East constituency

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