With the amount of rubbish accumulated by people growing in the wake of Christmas, East Hampshire District Council is warning them not to consider fly-tipping.

In November a Four Marks resident was convicted of dumping three bags of garden waste in the village and was fined £250 plus a £34 victim surcharge.

The previous month a resident of Havant borough was fined £400 for not using an authorised carrier to dispose of their waste after it was found dumped in Rowlands Castle.

And in November a Portsmouth resident was fined £400 and ordered to pay a £160 victim surcharge plus £200 costs for refusing to help an investigation into fly-tipping.

Portfolio holder Cllr Tony Costigan said: “We have a zero-tolerance approach to fly-tipping and those involved should know that we’re coming after them.

“One of the great things about living in East Hampshire is our beautiful countryside, and anyone threatening that will be tackled with all of the tools at our disposal.”

East Hampshire’s enforcement staff have powers to issue fines for fly-tipping. They also carry out investigations to find people who hire dodgy businesses to dispose of their waste.

People who have rubbish they need to dispose of should book a trip to a household waste recycling centre, or contact an approved waste carrier rather than use someone who knocks on their door.

When an approved carrier takes waste the resident should obtain a waste transfer note as a receipt to show who took it, so if it is fly-tipped they can show they did everything they could to ensure it was disposed of correctly.

Those who cannot take items to the tip can use East Hampshire’s bulky waste collection service. Anyone seeing someone fly-tipping should call the police on 101. If a fly-tip is blocking a road, call Hampshire County Council.