TWO men who admitted fly-tipping household waste on village land near Devizes have been given £400 fixed penalty notices by Wiltshire Council.

The men dumped rubbish on land near Potterne Cricket Club in October and council officers were alerted after pictures were put on social media.

Officers conducted interviews under caution with three people with the tipping.

A woman from Devizes, who confirmed that the waste fly-tipped in Potterne woods belonged to her, explained to officers that she had paid £20 cash to two males for what she thought was the safe disposal of her household waste.

She told officers she was very remorseful for not taking the time to ensure the men, one of whom she knew, had the necessary waste carriers licence and transfer notes for the safe disposal of her waste.

A further two interviews were later conducted with the men involved. They admitted to taking the waste away on behalf of the woman with the intention of disposing of it properly.

However, they explained to investigatory officers that due to a puncture on their vehicle which was transporting the waste, they pulled into the wooded area to change the tyre and had to unload the waste to do so.

They also explained to the officers that they knew fly-tipping was an offence and had the intention to go back to clear the waste, but never got round to doing so.

Philip Whitehead, cabinet member for highways said: “Wiltshire Council is committed to the crackdown on waste crime like fly tipping. It costs the taxpayer millions per year in clean-up costs and is a significant blight on our local environment. This fixed penalty notice continues to be a significant additional tool available to the council in combating this illegal activity”.