(Blackburn with Darwen Council via SWNS)
By Charlie Fenton
A furniture firm which dumped two tons of trash was caught out when investigators found a $26.85 takeaway pizza receipt among the waste.
EMM Furniture Ltd left the huge piles of waste in the grounds of Royal Blackburn Hospital, in Lancashire, in April last year, prompting council chiefs to launch an investigation.
Shocking images show large transparent bin bags full of commercial trash, pieces of wood, and other waste chucked into surrounding shrubbery and dangling from trees.
The inquiries were opened after Blackburn with Darwen Council officers received an anonymous tip from a member of the public who provided a photo showing two people fly-tipping waste from a van at the site.
And during the investigation, eagle-eyed officers uncovered a $26.85 takeaway pizza receipt, with an address which was later revealed to belong to EMM Furniture.
The company had ordered an 18-inch large Asian Special Pizza ($17.43), one large chips ($2.67), two tubs of garlic sauce ($1.07), and a coke bottle ($3.62), with a $2.68 delivery fee.
(Blackburn with Darwen Council via SWNS)
Minus the meal deal discount, the order came to $26.85.
Officers then paid a visit to the company and found matching waste bags and the van used in the offence at its premises.
Burnley Magistrates' Court ordered EMM Furniture, based in Ruskin Street, Burnley, Lancashire, to pay a $26,840 fine, $725 in council costs, and $475 in compensation for clearing the waste following a hearing on July 24 earlier this year.
A Blackburn with Darwen Council spokesperson said: "This case shows that fly-tippers can and will be identified, no matter how hard they try to cover their tracks.
"A huge thank you to everyone involved in this investigation, especially the member of the public who reported the incident and our partners at Burnley Council."
EMM Furniture Ltd has been approached for a comment.
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