A householder has become the first in Carmarthenshire to be issued with a £300 fine after their rubbish was found fly-tipped.

New powers came into force in February to help make it easier for councils to take action against householders who give their waste to people not authorised to handle it.

The rubbish was found over four miles away in Five Roads and was spread over both sides of the road for approximately half a mile.

Environmental enforcement officers linked the rubbish to an address in Llwynhendy.

The householder was tracked down and admitted they had given their rubbish to an unknown waste carrier - who had then fly-tipped it.

Householders are now being reminded that if they pay someone to take away their household rubbish or unwanted items, they must check that they are a registered waste carrier. If they don’t and their rubbish ends up fly-tipped, they could be issued with a £300 fine or up to £5,000 if prosecuted in court.

A new campaign ‘It’s Your Duty to Care’ has been launched by Fly-Tipping Action Wales to help raise awareness amongst householders.

According to Welsh Government, more than 60% of fly-tipped waste comes from households and while these householders haven’t fly-tipped the waste themselves in most cases, they have failed to carefully check who they passed their waste to for disposal.

Executive Board Member for Public Protection Cllr Philip Hughes said: “Householders have a legal duty to ensure anybody they give their household waste to is a registered waste carrier. If they do not carry out the necessary checks and their waste is found fly-tipped, then they risk a fine of £300 or more.

“We have a zero tolerance approach to fly-tipping and littering in Carmarthenshire, hopefully this fine and the newly-launched campaign will help to raise awareness of householders’ responsibilities and clean up the county for all our benefit.”