A STOURBRIDGE man has paid the penalty with the courts after waste from his home was found near Cradley Town football ground.

Richard Cochrane, of The Kingsway, Wollaston, landed a £365 court bill for failing to dispose of his rubbish properly.

The waste was spotted on land near the football ground in Beeches View Avenue, Cradley, in May this year and it was traced back to Cochrane’s address.

The 28-year-old admitted he had paid a friend £160 to take the waste for him, believing he would dispose of it properly.

Magistrates gave him a conditional discharge for six months and ordered him to pay £150 compensation plus £200 towards clean-up costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

Councillor Hilary Bills, Dudley's cabinet member for environment and culture, said: “We work hard to keep this borough clean and tidy and thankfully, most people share this view and dispose of their waste properly.

“It is very important when people are getting rid of large amounts of rubbish that they get someone who is properly licensed to do it.

“We do make efforts to trace the people who actually dump the rubbish, but the person who asks someone without the correct paperwork to do it for them is liable for prosecution themselves.”