Officers are using the latest cases to repeat a warning to anyone believed to have dumped rubbish in the city that they can’t hide from council enquiries.

In the three separate prosecutions brought by the council, Kumar Shresta, Doina Begian and Ancuta Marcu were each found guilty in their absence of one obstruction charge under section 110 of The Environment Act 1995, for failing to comply with investigating officers’ requests for assistance.

Shresta was prosecuted after cardboard packaging and black bags were left on a footpath in Drummond Street on February 26 this year by men living at a property in the road.

Council tax records were checked, and environmental crime officers identified the occupant as Shresta. A fixed penalty notice was issued but not paid and a later reminder letter was also ignored.

He was then required to attend the Civic Centre to assist with council investigations but failed to comply. At a hearing at Dudley Magistrates Court on 22 October, Shresta was fined £1,500, ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £60 and costs of £1,604.

In the second case, a woman was seen leaving her property in Dudley Road on 20 April. She crossed the road and left the black bags she was carrying on the footpath next to one of the litter bins.

Officers visited the property to try and identify the offender and to discuss whether they were experiencing problems with disposing of their waste lawfully.

The residents, Begian and Marcu, refused to engage and were subsequently required to attend the Civic Centre for interview. Neither of the residents complied and as a result, both were summoned to appear at Dudley Magistrates Court on 3 December.

Neither attended and each was fined £660 in their absence, with a victim surcharge of £264 and costs of £1,152, giving a total of £2,076 for each offender.

In each case, the defendants’ failure to comply with the requests from the council prevented officers from furthering their investigation into who was responsible for the fly tipping. As a result, the prosecutions for obstruction were brought.

All costs awarded to the council will be reinvested back into its environmental crime service.

Councillor Bhupinder Gakhal, cabinet member for resident services at City of Wolverhampton Council, said: “Fly tipping is a thoughtless and unpleasant crime. It is quite clear that if we suspect you of dumping waste, we are going to use all of our powers to track you down.

“As these cases prove, failing to co-operate and obstructing officers in their investigations can lead to serious consequences. It is important that we highlight case such as this as they serve as a warning to others that they can’t ignore our investigations and just hope we will go away.

“Residents should also be aware that litter bins are for the public to dispose of their ‘pocket’ waste and small items of litter like food wrappers or bagged dog waste. Leaving any sort of waste on the footpath whether it is by a bin or not can be considered to be fly tipping.”

Residents are reminded that waste can be disposed of free of charge at our Household Waste and Recycling Centres (tips) which are open 7 days a week from 8am – 4pm. Centres are at Anchor Lane, Lanesfield, Bilston and Shaw Road, Wolverhampton.

A bulky item collection service to dispose of big unwanted items is also available, find out more at www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/recycling-and-waste/book-bulky-item-collection