A restaurant in Dagenham has been ordered to pay more than £5,200 for fly-tipping offences two years ago.

On September 16 and 19 in 2019, a council enforcement officer discovered an accumulation of bagged waste in Goresbrook Road.

A large number of receipts for The Balti Cottage, a nearby restaurant, were found among the rubbish.

After further investigation, the officer interviewed the business under caution and concluded it was responsible for two offences of fly-tipping.

The restaurant was handed fixed penalty notices (FPNs) of £400 for each offence but appealed. These were rejected as there was deemed to be sufficient evidence to support the penalties.

After the fines were not paid, the owner was summoned to Barkingside Magistrates' Court late last month.

Barking and Dagenham Council said the owner, who pleaded not guilty, claimed not to know how the waste came to be on the public highway.

The business was found guilty and ordered to pay £1,700 and £2,000 for the offences, £1,345 in costs to the council and a victim surcharge of £170.