A COUPLE who used a nature reserve car park to dump 19 bags stuffed with household waste have owe the courts £1,248 for fly-tipping.

Ashley Archer and Victoria Parker, of Third Street, Horden, County Durham, travelled to a beauty spot on Durham’s Heritage coast in an attempt to get rid of the rubbish.

The pair were caught on CCTV unloading a Ford Focus and leaving the waste at Limekiln Gill car park in August last year.

Archer, 37, and mother-of-one Parker, appeared at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court where they both pleaded guilty to a charge of depositing waste without an environmental permit.

Chris McKey, prosecuting on behalf of Durham County Council, said: “A warden reviewed CCTV for the area and for the day before and he saw a male and female park up in a silver Ford Focus and appear to look around the area and then dump 19 bags of waste.

“Inside those bags were letters addressed to Mr Archer at Third Street and medication labels for Ms Parker.

“Both denied carry out the fly-tipping until the CCTV was reviewed. Fly-tipping cost the council as much as half a million pounds last year and it does have a significant impact on the council’s budget.”

During the hearing, Archer represented himself and his partner and said: “I apologise and I understand that what we did was irresponsible and it won’t happen again.”

They were fined £480 each, and ordered to pay £196 in costs and a £48 victim surcharge.