AN Amesbury man who was moving house said he dumped waste at three locations in the town as the recycling centre was not open until the following day.

Fly-tipped waste was found at three locations along Stockport Road, prompting an investigation by Wiltshire Council’s environment enforcement team.

Evidence gathered at the site pointed to a nearby address and the homeowner identified the waste as his.

“He gave the excuse that he was moving house and as the household recycling centre was not open until the following day, he had decided to dump it instead,” a spokesperson for Wiltshire Council said.

The man was issued with a fixed penalty notice (FPN) of £1,000 for fly-tipping. As FPNs are not a conviction in court, the resident cannot be named.

Councillor Nick Holder, cabinet member for highways and street scene, said: “There really is no excuse for fly-tipping and we continue to take a zero-tolerance stance to anyone found to be dumping their rubbish.

“In this case, the resident could simply have waited until the following day, for the household recycling centre to reopen and got rid of his waste legally, but he chose the wrong option and has been rightly penalised.

“As this case shows, our environment enforcement officers will investigate and pursue those responsible, in line with our business plan commitment.

“We will fine or prosecute anyone caught illegally dumping rubbish in our beautiful county.”

More information on how the council is tackling fly-tipping as well as how to report it can be found on the Wiltshire Council website.