THREE people have been ordered to pay more than £1,000 for leaving their gardens full of ‘disgusting’ rubbish.

Benjamin Groom, Kelly Jones and Penelope Hyatt, from Blackburn, were summonsed to court after ignoring repeated calls from the council to take action and remove the waste, which had piled up in their gardens between last October and March.

However, all three failed to attend Blackburn magistrates and were proved guilty in their absence, and ordered to pay more than £300 each.

A spokesperson for the Blackburn with Darwen Council said: “The defendants were all summonsed after ignoring repeated calls from the council to take action as well as offers of support.”

The spokesperson went on to say that the council’s environmental waste crime team had been working hard throughout the pandemic.

Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council’s executive member for environment Cllr Jim Smith, said: “There is no excuse to allow waste to mount up and be left as it had been in these cases.

“It’s disgusting – there is no other word for it. It creates a blight on the environment and is not nice for those residents living nearby – many of whom take real pride in their homes and where they live.

“Situations like this can also be dangerous and will attract vermin which is why whenever we receive reports, our teams will investigate thoroughly.

“We don’t take court action lightly as we want to work with residents to solve the problem once and for all, but in some cases it is the only way and is very much needed.

“If our residents are suffering the same problems with their neighbours, I’d encourage them to get in touch.

“We have a really hard working team that will do everything they can to help.

“Importantly, I’d also encourage any residents who have problems with their waste mounting up to please ask for help.

“We can offer the right support and there’s much better options available than the cost of going to court and being names and shamed.”

The prosecution details, for failing to comply with a Section 80 Notice of the EPA (accumulation of waste in rear yard) are as follows:

Benjamin Groom, 31, of Livesey Branch Road, was fined £220 with £80 costs and a £32 victim surcharge.

Kelly Jones, 31, of Livesey Branch Road, was fined £220 with £80 costs and a £32 victim surcharge.

Penelope Hyatt, 49, of Watson Street, was fined £220 with £85 costs and a £34 victim surcharge.

If you need to dispose of larger items, the council offers a bulky waste collection service starting from just £7.50.

If you would like to report waste left outside a property you can do so on the council’s website.