A MAN who left 50 bin bags of household waste rotting in his back yard has been fined as part of a clampdown on rubbish and fly-tipping in Hyndburn.

Ahmed Al-Ghouf, of Beech Street, Accrington, was found guilty in his absence of failing to comply with a notice served on him in January instructing him to clear the back yard, which had more than 50 bin bags of rotting household waste and two fridges dumped there.

Contractors were brought in to clear the yard, but within weeks rubbish was again piling up in his yard. He also failed to comply with a notice to present his wheeled bin for collection.

He was fined £400 for failing to clear his yard, £100 for failing to present his wheeled bin for collection, and ordered to pay £60 in costs.

It was one of three cases brought by Hyndburn Council. Mark Lord, of Midland Street, was found guilty in his absence of an offence of littering after several bags of household waste were found in a back street outside the collection period.

Warning letters had already been sent to residents in the area regarding the new wheeled bins, as some residents were still in the habit of dumping bags in the back street.

A fixed penalty notice was served, but not paid. The court fined him £100 and ordered £30 costs.

And Colin Williams, manager of The Pantry 2, in Union Road, Oswaldtwistle, admitted he was responsible for a pile of rubbish left in Rhyddings Street. A large pile of bags was traced back to his business after council officers rifled through them.

Williams admitted he had instructed a staff member to put the bags out for collection by a friend, although they had been left in a nearby back street.

But, because he could not provide receipts for the transfer of his waste, a legal requirement for trade waste, he was liable.

Williams, of Havelock Street, Oswaldtwistle was fined £350 and ordered to pay £70 in costs.

A council spokesman said: "This latest action sends out a clear message that anyone caught fly-tipping, dumping bags in back streets, and allowing refuse to accumulate in their property, will be prosecuted.

"The council's environmental service deals with many complaints from residents about the state of neighbours' yards and gardens, and those who cause problems by allowing refuse to accumulate."