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South Tyneside residents have been ordered to pay fines totalling £1,640 after ignoring requests to clear up rubbish or to answer questions about flytipping.

In the first case, waste dumped in a back lane in South Shields led to Lisa Higginson, of West Park Road, being fined £660 in her absence by South Tyneside Magistrates last week.

She was also ordered to pay £100 in costs and a £66 victim surcharge.

The court heard how rubbish including bags, boxes and an old linen bin was found abandoned illegally last December.

Identification found amongst the waste led investigating officers from Â鶹ÊÓƵ to Higginson's property at West Park Road.

The Council took legal action after she failed to make herself available to answer questions regarding the abandonment of the waste - an offence under section 110 of the Environment Act 1995.

In another incident, four sofas were found in the front garden of a property belonging to Jeffrey Neil Walker at Marlborough Street, South Shields, in February this year.

He was advised by officers that the furniture needed to be disposed of as it could attract mice, however he failed to remove the sofas.

Walker pleaded guilty to failing to comply with a notice served under The Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949. He was fined £100 and ordered to pay costs of £220 and a victim surcharge of £44

A third case saw Boldon Colliery tenant Danielle Batey fined £440 after officers received a complaint of sofas that had been in the front garden of a property in Byron Avenue for over a year.

Despite being served a notice to move the sofas and warned that they could harbour vermin, they remained in the garden.

Batey was prosecuted for failing to comply with a notice served under The Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949 when she did not remove the sofas. She was also ordered to pay costs of £265 and a victim surcharge of £44.

The landlord of Batey's property, Afsan Mehdi, of Hedworth Lane, Boldon Colliery, was also convicted of the same offence.

He was fined £440 in his absence and ordered to pay £265 costs and a £44 victim surcharge.

A spokesperson for Â鶹ÊÓƵ said: "We are absolutely committed to keeping our borough clean and tidy, and that means pursuing people who dump or fail to clear up waste.

"Rubbish left lying around is not only unsightly and unpleasant, it can also be hazardous because it can attract vermin.

"We will always take action against people who fail to clean up after themselves, and we hope these fines act as a deterrent to anyone who spoils our borough in this way.

""Members of the public can help by being our eyes and ears and reporting any incidents to the council so we can investigate."

The Council spends more than £2m a year keeping the Borough clean and tidy and the illegal disposal of waste places an additional burden on taxpayers.

To report fly-tipping contact Â鶹ÊÓƵ's Customer Contact Centre on (0191) 427 7000. All calls will be treated in the strictest confidence. Alternatively Report It online via the Council's website at www.southtyneside.gov.uk/reportit

Further information about the safe and responsible disposal of waste can also be found at www.southtyneside.gov.uk/wasteandrecycling