TWO Darwen residents have been fined for allowing rubbish to accumulate at their properties.

Darren Tomlinson, 40, of Clarence Street, was told to pay £264 for failing to remove waste, including dog excrement from the yard of the property, after repeated warnings from the council.

He did not to attend the hearing before Blackburn magistrates yesterday but in a statement read to the court he said he had been involved in a dispute with neighbours at the time over who owned the bins, and that the waste bins had gone missing.

The same court in a separate hearing was told that Jamie-Leigh Scott, 23, of Lily Street, had been fined following a visit from a public protection officer.

She had been served with a notice by Blackburn with Darwen Council in December 2013 but was visited again in January this year when it was established the notice had been breached.

She was ordered to pay £264, which included a fine of £165, compensation of £80, and a victim surcharge of £20.

Coun Jim Smith, executive member for Environment said: “It is crucial that residents dispose of their rubbish in the correct, hygienic way to avoid prosecution and fines.

“The Your Call campaign continues to show that the vast majority of residents want to see our borough clean, and we will name and shame in the press those who litter our community and tarnish this good work.”

“People should consider their neighbourhoods and their neighbours, and dispose of their rubbish properly.

“This is a considerable amount of money for not putting household waste in the bins provided and putting them out on collection day.”