Fly-tipping mother fined

A mother who dumped a load of old furniture, which was later found outside a Wolverhampton school, has been fined £157 after being convicted of flytipping.

Jenny Katay-Kaunder, who was also given a 12-month conditional discharge, was tracked down by council officials after she left paperwork with her name on it inside a drawer, city magistrates were told.

The court heard how the 33-year-old got rid of a bed base, three mattresses, two armchairs, a wardrobe and a chest of drawers, by leaving them in an alley outside her home in Eastfield Grove, Eastfield.

But they were later discovered further up the street – directly outside Eastfield Primary School.

Katay-Kaunder, originally from the Congo, pleaded guilty to a charge of depositing waste on land without a licence on the basis that someone else moved the stuff from the alley to the school.

Magistrates were told yesterday how the mother-of-three, who addressed the court via a French interpreter, was a widow whose husband died in an African war in 2001. She has lived in Britain ever since.

Prosecutor Jacky Bramley said a member of the public reported the furniture outside the school.

"Several pieces of paper were found in one of the drawers, including two aeroplane boarding passes with the name Jenny Katay-Kaunder on," she said.

"She said she had put them in an alley near to her home but someone else must have moved them onto the footpath where they were found."

She added the defendant didn't realise it was against the law to dispose of furniture in this way.

Katay-Kaunder said she had gone on holiday to France believing the items would be collected.

As well being fined for the costs of removing the rubbish, she was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £211 and given a 12-month conditional discharge.