Two St Helens residents were fined for allowing their back yard to become piled high with rubbish.
These pictures show how they allowed waste to accumulate at the back of their house in Alfred Street.
Bin bags were piled on top of each other, with spillage and waste leaking out onto the ground, resulting in a nuisance to their neighbours.
Christopher Long and Sarah Stevenson were prosecuted but failed to appear at St Helens Magistrates’ Court where they each received fines and costs totalling £564 in their absence.
A spokesman for St Helens Council said officers from the Environmental Health Department were forced to resort to court action after “repeatedly needing to serve abatement notices and the use of external contractors to clear the waste”.
Cllr Seve Gomez-Aspron, St Helens Council’s Cabinet Member for Green, Smart & Sustainable Borough, said the filth was not fair on their neighbours and added that these sorts of problems are usually the result of “sheer laziness”.
He said: “Prosecutions such as this are very much the last resort. However, the council will not hesitate to take action where this is required, for it isn’t fair that surrounding neighbours have to tolerate it.
“Residents are provided with sufficient bins and recycling containers but ultimately it is the responsibility of residents to look after these containers and use them.
“The vast majority of problems dealt with by Environmental Health and Cleansing Services arise from sheer laziness and can be avoided by simply using the bins and recycling containers, and putting them out for collection on time.”
Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/