A woman from Westbury-on-Trym in Bristol has been ordered to pay a total of £368 in fines and costs after South Gloucestershire Council prosecuted her following the discovery of fly-tipped household waste.
Claire Dolman, 51, of Merlin Close, Westbury-on-Trym appeared at Bristol Magistrates Court on 16 February. She pleaded guilty to failing in her duty of care for waste and was handed a £120 fine, ordered to pay costs of £200 and a victim surcharge of £48, making a total of £368.
The court heard that a fly-tip was discovered in a hedgerow at Webbs Heath, Siston Common on 18 August 2025. Council officers attended and found bags of household waste, furniture, toys, packaging, boxes, plastics and broken gardening machinery, along with correspondence in the name of Claire Dolman.
The council’s environmental enforcement investigators interviewed Dolman under caution at her home address on Thursday 11 September. During the interview, Dolman stated she had paid £150 to a cold caller offering waste clearance services, to remove what she described as half a Transit van sized amount of waste from her driveway. She admitted to failing in her householder duty of care by not checking that she was handing her waste over to a licenced waste carrier and not taking steps to obtain a receipt, nor record any details of the waste carrier and their vehicle. At the conclusion of the interview Dolman was advised that she was being reported for summons for the offence of failing in her householder waste duty of care.
Dolman was originally summonsed to appear before Bristol Magistrates Courts on 8 December 2025 but failed to attend and the case was adjourned to 2 February 2026. She also failed to appear on that date, so the Court issued a warrant for her arrest.
Dolman was detained by Police on 13 February 2026 and appeared before Bristol Magistrates on Monday 16 February where she pleaded guilty to failing in her duty of care.
Councillor Sean Rhodes, cabinet member responsible for environmental enforcement at South Gloucestershire Council, said: “Fly-tipping is a serious environmental crime that can have a negative impact on communities, can often be hazardous, and costs the council time and money to clear. We all have a duty to dispose of our waste responsibly and that includes when dealing with third party waste collectors.
“Residents are advised to be wary of cold callers and businesses or people advertising waste clearances on social media sites such as Facebook. There are a number of legitimate options for waste removal, including the council’s large household waste collection service. If you hire a third-party to dispose of your waste, always ask for a copy of the company’s waste carrier registration certificate, make a note of their details and ask where the waste is being taken.
“Prosecutions like these protect our environment and create cleaner and safer places for our communities. These are key priorities of the Liberal Democrat/ Labour partnership.”
Residents and businesses are advised to only give their rubbish to an Environment Agency registered waste carrier.
You can carry out these simple steps to make sure your waste is disposed of legally:
- Ask for a copy of the company’s waste carrier registration certificate and ask where the waste is being taken. Legitimate firms will be happy to provide this information.
- Do not be tempted to use people offering cheap waste clearance on sites such as Facebook and Gumtree unless you have confirmed that they are registered with the Environment Agency
- Check whether the waste carrier is registered by calling the Environment Agency on 08708 506506 or by checking on their website https://environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/search-waste-carriers-brokers
- Ask for a registered trading address and contact telephone number for the trader and get a receipt.
Household waste can be taken to the council’s Sort It recycling centres where it can be disposed of at no cost www.southglos.gov.uk/sortitcentres
Residents who see illegal fly-tipping are encouraged to report it by contacting the council’s StreetCare helpdesk on 01454 868000, emailing streetcare@southglos.gov.uk or visiting www.southglos.gov.uk/flytipping
