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A Rusholme company has been ordered to pay £10,500, after being caught fly-tipping sofas by Manchester City Council.
Café Sipping Ltd, trading as Marmara Shisha Café, was fined £9,000 by magistrates, with an additional Victim Surcharge penalty of £900, plus court costs of £481.49 and clean-up compensation costs of £118.32.
Six leather settees from the café were dumped at a site on Claremont Road, Rusholme on 18 September 2015 - and the illegal actions were all caught on CCTV.
Five males were filmed entering Marmara cafe and exiting with the sofas, which they then disposed of in a nearby car park.
Café Sipping Ltd was invited to send a representative to a formal interview under caution by Manchester City Council, but failed to attend.
The video evidence allowed the council to prove the company’s guilt at a hearing at Manchester Magistrates Court.
Magistrates heard the case in Café Sipping Ltd’s absence, after the company failed to attend or send representation.
Executive Member for Neighbourhoods, Councillor Nigel Murphy, said: “We are delighted with this successful prosecution – and with the size of the penalty handed down, which sends out a very clear message to people who think they can get away with illegally dumping waste.
“We share residents’ considerable anger and frustration with the disgraceful minority of anti-social individuals and businesses who fly-tip in our neighbourhoods. We will continue to do all we can to ensure that the culprits are punished.”