TWO men have been punished for leaving large amounts of rubbish in their gardens.

Scott McDonnell and Adam Clough, both from Great Harwood, faced court after failing to comply with Community Protection Notices ordering them to clean up rubbish in their back yards.

McDonnell, from Cross Street, didn’t attend court and was convicted in his absence of failing to remove refuse from his property as required by law and was ordered to pay £560.

Clough, from Heywood Street, had to pay £280 after pleading guilty to having failed to comply with a Community Protection Notice.

Ian Halliday, environmental protection manager for Hyndburn Council, said; “In both cases Mr McDonnell and Mr Clough had allowed large accumulations of rubbish to build up in their backyards in Great Harwood.

“Enforcement officers visited and served notices in both cases ordering them to clean up the mess, but they failed to do so and therefore we took them to court where they’ve both ended up with a conviction along with fines and costs to pay.”

In the past Hyndburn has had several problems with fly-tipping and in January piles of rubbish were dumped along Haslingden Old Road in Oswaldtwistle.

The largest case was in December last year when more than 30 lorry-loads of waste was discovered at the former Huncoat power station in Altham Lane.

Cllr Gareth Molineux, who represents Great Harwood on Hyndburn Council said they did try to ask the residents to remove the litter initially.

He said: “I think it’s unfortunate the fact that we have had to take legal action.

“Obviously it was causing a significant amount of distress to residents of that area.

“It should serve as a warning to people.

“It’s a nuisance to the neighbourhood. Everybody should be able to enjoy a certain quality of life without having to worry about rats and vermin from piles of rubbish.”

Earlier this year the council launched its my.hydburn app, which allows people to request a bulky collection or report fly-tipping via their PC, mobile phone or tablet device.