NINE East Lancashire householders who left their gardens littered with so much rubbish that rats began to gather have been fined a total of £8,000.

Two residents from Darwen and seven from Blackburn were ordered to pay the hefty penalties, which included court costs, after they failed to comply with council notices requiring them to clean up their waste.

Pictures provided to the Lancashire Telegraph show how the gardens and yards of seven properties across the borough were covered with rubbish, construction waste and animal mess, which created odour issues for neighbouring properties.

The offences were reported to Blackburn with Darwen council between September and January by fed-up neighbours.

And following the residents’ refusal to respond to orders which required them to clean up the mess and prevent it from happening again, they were charged and taken to court.

Blackburn with Darwen Council’s environment boss Cllr Jim Smith said: “We were responding to concerns from residents at neighbouring properties who have been blighted by the issues caused by people failing to clean up their mess.

“These court proceedings were not entered into lightly. They followed a full and thorough process during which all the defendants were offered our support and given a number of chances to right their wrongs.”

However, at the hearing at Blackburn Magistrates Court, only two defendants pleaded guilty to the contravention, with the remaining seven failing to make an appearance. All nine defendants were found guilty and were ordered to pay a total of £4,900 in fines and £2,900 in costs.

Cllr Smith added: “We are working really hard to drive down waste issues and we also recently undertook a successful operation with police to crack down on fly-tipping. This included pulling over more than 20 vehicles under the M65 bridge in Darwen to ensure they had the appropriate licences for carrying waste.

“I would encourage anyone with information about waste issues, particularly information that could us identify those responsible for fly-tipping, to come forward and help us to put a stop to it.”

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Those prosecuted for failure to comply with a notice were:

* Tanya Carmel Roberts, 31, of Lynthorpe Road, Blackburn – fined £660 with £400 costs.

* Katrina Pennington, 33, of Redearth Road, Darwen – fined £660 with £400 costs.

* Emily Doonan, 23, and Jonathan McKay, 24, of St Marks Road, Blackburn – both fined £140 and ordered to pay costs of £250 each.

* Debbie Fish, 33, of Moorgate Street, Blackburn – fined £660 with £400 costs.

* Jade Heaton, 24, of Livesey Branch Road, Blackburn – fined £660 with £400 costs.

* Kelly Louise Symon, 26, of Anyon Street, Darwen – fined £660 with £400 costs.

* Emma Bolton, 30, and Alan Gosling, 42, of Buttermere Close, Blackburn – both fined £660 with £200 costs.