Lancashire furniture firm fined £20,000 after pizza receipt exposed fly tipping
A furniture company has been hit with a £20,000 fine after investigators discovered a pizza receipt among two tons of rubbish they fly-tipped at a hospital site.
A Lancashire furniture company was caught fly tipping nearly two tonnes of rubbish after investigators found an unlikely piece of evidence among the waste, a £20 takeaway pizza receipt that led them straight to the business.
EMM Furniture Ltd left the huge piles of waste in the grounds of Royal Blackburn Hospital, in April last year prompting council chiefs to launch an investigation.
Shocking images show large transparent bins bags full with commercial rubbish, pieces of wood, and other waste chucked into surrounding shrubbery and dangling from trees.
The enquiries were opened after Blackburn with Darwen Council officers received an anonymous tip from a member of the public who provided a photo showing two people fly-tipping waste from a van at the site.
And during the investigation, eagle eyed officers uncovered a £20 takeaway pizza receipt, with an address which was later revealed to belong to EMM Furniture.
The company had ordered an 18 inch large Asian Special Pizza (£12.99), one large chips (£1.99), two tubs of garlic sauce (80p), and a coke bottle (£2.70), with a £2 delivery fee.
Minus the meal deal discount, the order came to £20.
Officers then paid a visit to the company and found matching waste bags and the van used in the offence at its premises.
Burnley Magistrates’ Court ordered EMM Furniture, based in Ruskin Street, Burnley, Lancs., to pay a £20,000 fine, £539 in council costs, and £354 in compensation for clearing the waste following a hearing on July 24 earlier this year.
A Blackburn with Darwen Council spokesperson said: "This case shows that fly-tippers can and will be identified, no matter how hard they try to cover their tracks.
"A huge thank you to everyone involved in this investigation, especially the member of the public who reported the incident and our partners at Burnley Council."
EMM Furniture Ltd have been approached for a comment.