Litter warning as trio fined
Council bosses have renewed their pledge to tackle fly-tipping and littering after three offenders were fined.
Joseph Carolan, Emma Dodds and Sophie Jackson were all fined at South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court over separate offences which took place last year.
The court heard Carolan, 56, of Leonard Street, Hendon, deposited black bags of household waste and several pieces of wood in the back lane of Leonard Street.
Sunderland City Council’s neighbourhood enforcement team were able to use this as evidencetotraceitbacktohim.
Carolan failed to attend his first hearing last year, resulting in a warrant for his arrest being served.
Whenheappearedincourt on February 17 he entered a guilty plea and was given a fine of £200, ordered to pay the clearance costs of £68 and court costs of £159.
Dodds, 34, of Barnabas Way, Hendon and Jackson, 23, of Wallington Grove, South Shields, were both charged with the offence of littering cigarette ends on High Street West on separate occasions.
Both were issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice of £150 for littering, but failed to pay the charges despite several reminder letters.
In both cases, they failed to attendcourt,andthecourtproceeded against the offence of littering in their absence.
Both received a £220 fine, victim surcharge of £34 and court costs of £235.
Cllr Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “Fly-tipping and littering are an issue in our city, which weareworkingveryhardwithin our communities to tackle. Sunderland City Council has investedinadditionalresourcestoensurethatourstreetsremain clean, and offenders are suitably dealt with.
“I’dliketothankanyonefor reporting these incidents.
"Those offending need to know that Sunderland City Council are taking enforcement action against anyone found committing these crimes.”
Fly-tipping is a criminal offence punishable by a fine of up to £50,000 or 12 months’ imprisonment if convicted in a Magistrates’ Court. The offence can attract an unlimited fineanduptofiveyearsimprisonmentifconvictedinaCrown Court.
If you witness any fly-tipping, you can report it to https://www.sunderland.gov.uk/ report-flytipping
A team of Wearsiders have helped track down hundreds of people at risk from coronavirus infection by using their local knowledge to back up the NHS’s efforts.
Sunderland City Council has formed its own taskforce, takingonthejoboffindingresidents the NHS Test and Trace team were unable to speak to within the first 32 hours of a positive test by their contact.
Since its launch on January 7 and up to February 17, the tracers have reached 539 people, around 60% of all cases the national service had been unable to solve.
The seven-day service brings together staff from the customer service network and redeployed workers from customer service roles in centresclosedduetoCovidrestrictions.
Theirfirsttaskistosendthe person a letter and a text, tellingthemtoexpectacall,before theyarecontactedbyphone–if there is no response, a further letter is sent and then another, if they do not respond.
In addition to handling their case in the strictest confidence, the trained team ensures the person is OK, asks if they need help to self-isolate through shopping supplies and medication and offers advice about the rules they need to stick to.
The letters sent out also detailhowtomakecontactorask for support so residents can take action themselves.
The council has said the local
contact tracing approach is helpingtoreducethespreadof the virus across the city, offeringalocalvoiceandknowledge
along with details of grants which can help.
They have also found people are more likely to respond to an organisation they know.
Phil Thompson, team leader, said: “So far the team have been very successful in being able to speak to a lot of the residents that the NHS had not managed to reach.
“We have spoken to a number of residents where their familymemberhaseitherbeen in hospital or unfortunately passed away so it certainly hits home the importance of everyone isolating to ensure we stop the spread and residents of Sunderland stay as safe as possible.”
Beverley Fox is among the call handlers. She said: “I have really enjoyed working on the test and trace and feel like I am doing my part to help.”
Graham Fawcett, another team member, said: “Supportingresidentstorespondtotest and trace procedures will help stop the spread of the virus.”