Two residents from Devizes have each been fined £1,000 after admitting responsibility for a fly-tipping incident in the town, as Wiltshire Council continues to take action against environmental crime.

The waste was discovered in bushes near the bottom of Gypsy Patch, close to Windsor Drive in Devizes. Environmental Enforcement officers found several bags of domestic waste and further investigations led them to two local residents.

As part of the investigation, the residents attended separate interviews, during which both admitted the waste originated from their household.

Both residents were issued with fixed penalty notices (FPNs) for fly-tipping offences and have each paid a £1,000 fine. As FPNs are not criminal convictions, the people involved cannot be named.

These offences were committed before Wiltshire Council introduced its revised fly-tipping fixed penalty regime on 1 September 2026. Under the new arrangements, offenders can now face scaled fixed penalty notices of up to £5,000, depending on the severity of the offence. As these incidents pre-dated the changes, they were dealt with under the previous £1,000 fixed penalty framework.

David Bullock, Director of Assets, Highways and Waste, said: “There is simply no excuse for fly-tipping. In this case, the individuals made a conscious decision to leave household waste in a public area rather than dispose of it responsibly.

“Every incident of fly-tipping has a cost. It harms the environment, affects the communities where it occurs and requires council resources to investigate and clear. We take these offences seriously and will continue to take enforcement action wherever there is sufficient evidence to identify those responsible. Disposing of waste correctly is always the responsibility of the individual.”

To find out more about how the council is tackling fly-tipping or to report an incident, go to our fly-tipping page.