TWO people have each been landed with a £427 bill after dumping a mattress in the street.

Sharron and Tyese Blake had been issued a fixed penalty notice after being spotted disposing of the double mattress in West Bowling.

But they refused to pay, and were taken to court by Bradford Council earlier this week.

The court was told that a Council Ward Officer spotted the pair carrying a double mattress along Baxandall Street where they lived in West Bowling in October.

He followed them to the junction of Woodroyd Road and Cranbrook Street where they dumped the mattress next to some railings.

The Ward Officer spoke to them about what they had done and they told him they thought it would be ok to dump the mattress next to a clothing bank.

As they took no action to take the mattress away, the Ward Officer recorded Mr and Ms Blake’s details. They were later issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice. Despite a reminder letter being sent to their home, the £80 FPN remained unpaid.

Woman fined for fly-tipping after leaving armchair outside Springfield Furniture Project

At Bradford Magistrates’ Court this week both defendants were found guilty in their absence of dropping litter.

They were each fined £80 with £317 costs and told to pay £30 Victim Surcharge.

Following the case, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Healthy People and Places, Councillor Sarah Ferriby, said: “It’s baffling why people in this situation can’t simply get rid of rubbish properly and legally.

“They could have taken it to the Household Waste Recycling Centre and disposed of it for no cost at all, or contacted the Council’s bulky waste collection service which would have cost them £15.

“By deciding to dump the mattress in the street then not paying the FPN it has led to them each having to pay a total of £427 as well as picking up a criminal record.

“Clearly there are lessons to be learned here.

“If you have waste to get rid of, do it legally and properly and avoid the risk of an £80 FPN.

“Secondly, if you do get issued with an FPN, it’s a heck of a lot cheaper to pay it, rather than face further charges in the courts.”

It was the latest case of Bradford Council taking someone to court for littering or fly tipping.

Charlotte Bradman, 26, of Lyon Street, Queensbury was fined £180 and ordered to pay £570 in costs and a £30 victim surcharge for leaving a chair at the rear of the Springfield Furniture Project in Oakworth Road, Keighley, then drove off without telling staff what she had done.

The charity had said the chair was soiled and unwanted by the charity, and had to be taken to the tip.

More information on fly-tipping call 01274 431000 or visit bradford.gov.uk.