Smethwick fly-tippers caught 'pink-handed' - by trail of paint leading back to house

The householders have now been fined £400 by Sandwell Council for dumping paint pots and bags of rubbish at the top of an alleyway behind their home.

When officers from the council's fly-tipping crackdown team looked for evidence of who had dumped the rubbish, they noticed a trail of pale pink splashes – leading from the alleyway, through a back gate and on to the back garden of a house.

The people who lived there initially denied dumping anything – but when officers looked inside their home, they could see the lounge had recently been painted the exact same colour.

The homeowners then admitted dumping the paint pots and rubbish bags.

One of the council officers who attended the scene said: "We had spotted the rubbish and went back to see if there was any evidence of who had dumped it.

"We walked down the alleyway and noticed there was a trail of pink paint leading from where the bags were through the alley, to a back gate and right up onto the back lawn of this house.

“Then we went into their back room which was also painted pink. At that point they accepted they had dumped the rubbish.

“I suppose you could say we caught them pink-handed.”

Sandwell Council launched a major crackdown on fly-tipping last May and almost 60 people have since been hit with £400 fixed penalties for dumping rubbish.

To report fly-tipping in the borough, visit www.sandwell.gov.uk/flytipping or call officers on 0121 368 1177.