A woman has been forced to pay more than £1,000 after a sofa and other rubbish was dumped on a bridleway in the Cotswolds. 

Charlotte Johnson, of King George's Field, Stow-on-the-Wold, pleaded guilty to offences under sections 33 and 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 at Cheltenham Magistrates Court on July 13.

Items including black bin bags, soft furnishings, cardboard packaging from children’s toys, items of clothing, a green waste bin a large quantity of cardboard and domestic correspondence, were dumped off the B4450 road that leads from Stow to Bledington on January 6 this year.

Johnson, 30, was fined £480 and ordered to pay £500 in costs and a victim surcharge of £48 - taking her total bill to £1,028.

Andrew Doherty, Cotswold District Council's cabinet member for environment, waste and recycling, said: “As a council our teams are consistently working hard to keep the district clean, tidy and safe for our residents and wildlife but some people don’t play their part. 

"Fly-tipping is a criminal offence. As well as being a hazard to human health and wildlife in the district, it also comes at a cost to the taxpayer.

“We’re pleased that this has been a successful and significant prosecution for the council. 

"Fly-tipping is unacceptable and as any incident of the activity is a criminal offence, we will seek to do everything we can to prosecute offenders in all cases, either through the issue of a Fixed Penalty Notice or through a prosecution. 

"We hope that this will act as a deterrent for others who may be tempted to offend.”

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The prosecution was brought by Cotswold District Council’s environmental regulatory services team with assistance from both the council’s counter fraud and enforcement unit and legal service.

Anyone can report an incident of fly-tipping online by visiting the Cotswold District Council website: cotswold.gov.uk/environment/report-fly-tipping