Key Points
- Lee McMullen was fined in excess of £600 because rubbish that could be tracked back to him was fly-tipped in Grogan Square, Bootle.
- According to Sefton Council, Mr McMullen confessed that he paid two men in a van £10 to take away his waste.
- However, he did not ascertain whether the collectors had been registered as waste carriers or possessed the license to do so.
- Mr McMullen got a Fixed Penalty Notice because of failing to discharge his Householder Duty of Care, but failed to pay it.
- Mr McMullen missed court appearances, and was arrested after a warrant was issued and pleaded guilty.
- According to the council, he is going to have a criminal record.
- The council has raised penalties for fly-tipping to up to £1,000 and has issued almost 100 Fixed Penalty Notices in 2026.
- Sefton cleared 3,709 fly-tipping cases during the last financial year at a cost of approximately £369,000.
- The council is spending an extra £1.5 million to clean streets and has tripled the number of people in its Environmental Enforcement Team.
- The residents are being asked to seek out a waste carrier license, verify it against the Environment Agency register, and get a receipt.
Sefton Council (Liverpool standard) October 20, 2026 – A Bootle resident who paid just £10 for two men in a van to remove his rubbish has been ordered to pay more than £600 after the waste was fly-tipped in the town. Sefton Council said Lee McMullen was traced through evidence found at Grogan Square after local councillors were alerted to dumped waste by a resident.
According to Sefton Council, Environmental Enforcement officers linked the fly-tipped material to Mr McMullen, who admitted that he had paid two men £10 to take the rubbish away. The council said he had not checked whether they were legitimate waste carriers or held the required licence.
Mr McMullen was issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice for breaching his Householder Duty of Care. Sefton Council said he failed to pay the notice, did not attend court and was later arrested on a warrant before pleading guilty. He was ordered to pay over £600 and will now have a criminal record.
Why was Lee McMullen fined?
The fine followed Mr McMullen’s failure to meet the legal duty placed on householders to ensure their waste is passed to an authorised carrier. Under the council’s account of the case, responsibility did not end when the rubbish was handed to the two men in the van.
As reported by the Liverpool Echo, Sefton Council is urging residents to beware of unlicensed waste collectors after the £600 penalty was imposed on Mr McMullen. The report said he “fell foul of the law” after the waste was found in Bootle.
Sefton Council stated:
“In one case, fly-tipped waste was discovered in Grogan Square in Bootle, after local councillors were alerted by a resident.”
The council added that enforcement officers traced the waste to Mr McMullen, who admitted paying two men in a van £10 to remove it.
The authority said:
“He had failed to check whether they were legitimate waste carriers or held the required licence.”
It further stated that Mr McMullen was issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice for breaching his Householder Duty of Care but failed to pay.
What did the council say about the case?
Councillor Peter Harvey, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Cleansing and Street Scene, warned that cheap waste-clearance offers can carry substantial consequences for householders. Speaking to BBC Radio Merseyside, he said fly-tipping remained a major issue both in Sefton and nationally, although the council said incidents had fallen over the past year.
“In the last year alone, the number of fines and Fixed Penalty Notices issued by the council has increased fivefold, demonstrating just how seriously we’re taking fly-tipping and the excellent work our investigators are doing to track down offenders,”
Cllr Harvey said, according to Sefton Council.
In comments published by the council, Cllr Harvey said:
“Residents need to be careful who they pay to remove their waste. If a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is.”
He said rogue traders often present themselves as a quick and easy solution, offering to remove items such as an old fridge freezer for a small amount of money. “But that waste could end up dumped in a field, a ditch or on the side of the road,” he said.
Referring directly to the Bootle case, Cllr Harvey said: “In the last few weeks, a resident paid just £10 to two men in a van to take away his rubbish. The waste was later fly tipped in Bootle, and our enforcement team were able to trace it back to him. What seemed like a bargain ended up costing him over £600.”
How is Sefton tackling fly-tipping?
Sefton Council said it has invested an additional £1.5 million in cleaner streets and has tripled the size of its Environmental Enforcement Team. The council said the measures are intended to support investigations into fly-tipping and enforcement action against those responsible.
The authority has also increased the maximum fly-tipping penalty to £1,000. It said almost 100 Fixed Penalty Notices had been issued so far in 2026, representing nearly a fivefold increase compared with the same period last year.
Sefton Council said it cleared 3,709 fly-tipping incidents in the last financial year. Although that was 400 fewer incidents than the previous year, the council said the clean-up still cost local taxpayers approximately £369,000.
The council said that money could otherwise have been directed towards community priorities, including new playground equipment, improved park maintenance and further environmental improvements across the borough.
What happened in the separate Bootle case?
Sefton Council also referred to a separate prosecution involving waste found in Holly Street, Bootle. Officers conducting a proactive search discovered three bags of waste beside an alleyway, and evidence linked the material to a resident on the street.
The council said the resident admitted responsibility during an interview with enforcement officers. After ignoring a Fixed Penalty Notice, the resident appeared in court in September 2026, pleaded guilty and was ordered to pay.
Sefton Council did not name the resident in the Holly Street case. It said the prosecution demonstrated that householders have a legal responsibility to ensure their waste is handled properly.
What checks should residents make?
Sefton Council is supporting Keep Britain Tidy’s Fight Fly-Tipping Fortnight, which runs from October 12 to October 25, 2026. The campaign warns residents about criminal waste traders who use convincing online advertisements, positive reviews and low prices to appear legitimate.
The council advised residents to take three steps before handing waste to a private collector: ask for a waste carrier licence; check the licence number on the Environment Agency’s public register or call 0300 065 3000; and check that a receipt will be provided.
Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, Chief Executive of Keep Britain Tidy, said local authorities see first-hand the damage caused by fly-tipping. She said tackling the problem places significant demands on already stretched council teams.
“People hiring someone to take away their rubbish should be able to trust that it will be disposed of responsibly,” Ms Ogden-Newton said, according to Sefton Council. “But rogue waste traders are exploiting that trust, taking people’s money and then leaving their waste dumped in streets, fields and public spaces for communities and councils to deal with.”
She added that criminals can be difficult to identify because a convincing advertisement, good reviews and a cheap price can make an illegal operator appear legitimate. “Our message is simple: don’t fall for a #RubbishDeal. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is,” she said.
Background of the development
Sefton Council’s latest warning forms part of its wider action against fly-tipping and unlicensed waste collection. The council said unlicensed carriers often advertise inexpensive, professional-looking services but may illegally dump the waste they are paid to remove, leaving the original householder exposed to enforcement action.
The authority has previously said that householders using private contractors for household, garden or construction waste must ensure the individual or company is a registered waste carrier. It has also advised residents to check credentials through the Environment Agency or its public register.
In March 2026, Sefton Council reported that one Fixed Penalty Notice of £750 had been issued after waste was dumped illegally in an alleyway on Lunt Road in Bootle. The council said at the time that it was stepping up action to tackle fly-tipping.
The latest case comes as Sefton Council backs Keep Britain Tidy’s Fight Fly-Tipping Fortnight. The campaign brings together local authorities across the country to highlight the impact of fly-tipping and educate residents on how to avoid handing waste to criminal operators.
Prediction: How this affects Sefton residents
For residents in Bootle and across Sefton, the case is likely to reinforce the importance of verifying waste collectors before paying for a clearance. Householders who use unlicensed operators may face Fixed Penalty Notices, prosecution, court costs and a criminal record if their waste is later fly-tipped and traced back to them.
The council’s increased enforcement capacity and higher maximum penalty may lead more residents to request licences, check the Environment Agency register and obtain receipts before employing private collectors. Sefton Council said almost 100 Fixed Penalty Notices had already been issued in 2026, a figure it described as nearly five times higher than at the same point last year.
For legitimate waste carriers, clearer public awareness of the legal duty of care could increase demand for documented, licensed services. For community groups and councillors, the case may encourage more reports of dumped waste, which Sefton Council says can then be investigated by its Environmental Enforcement officers.
The broader effect is likely to be greater caution among residents arranging one-off clearances, particularly where advertisements on social media offer unusually low prices. Sefton Council’s message is that a £10 collection can become a £600-plus liability when the waste is dumped illegally and traced back to the person who paid for its removal.
