A FLY-TIP at Whitehill Cemetery has left the owner of a horse livery yard in Surrey more than £1,500 worse off.

Emma Wickerson, 26, of Horsham Road, Surrey, pleaded guilty at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court on November 26 to failing to ensure her waste was removed by a licensed carrier.

The waste, one tonne of bags stuffed with equestrian items and household refuse, was subsequently dumped at Whitehill Cemetery in January 2019. East Hampshire District Council investigated and officers were able to trace it back to the livery yard.

Wickerson was formally interviewed and accepted she paid a carrier £80 to remove the waste, but had not checked whether the carrier was licensed. The carrier could not be traced by officers.

She was saddled with a £900 fine and ordered to pay a £90 victim surcharge, £100 costs and £440 compensation to the district council.

Sonja Reames, environmental officer at the district council who conducted the investigation, said: “The law is quite clear on this subject – a person has a clear duty of care to ensure their waste is disposed of properly.”