A trailer full of tomato ketchup has left a Littlehampton waste company red-faced – and £17,000 lighter.
Rubbish Cleared Promptly Ltd and its director, Simon Cole, have been ordered to pay almost £17,000 after hundreds of bottles of ketchup were dumped and abandoned in Anchor Springs car park back in October 2024.
Arun District Council successfully prosecuted the company after tracing the mess back to its operatives, who left the loaded trailer behind in the car park.
The case finally reached its saucy conclusion at Worthing Magistrates' Court on 22 June 2026. Rubbish Cleared Promptly Ltd was hit with a total bill of £13,180.50 – an £8,000 fine, £3,180.50 in costs and a £2,000 victim surcharge.
Director Simon Cole was personally ordered to pay a further £3,785.50, made up of a £432 fine, £3,180.50 in costs and a £173 victim surcharge. Altogether, the court's ruling adds up to a combined £16,966.
Cllr Amanda Worne, chair of Arun District Council's Environment Committee, said fly-tipping was ‘a serious environmental crime’ that damages habitats, blights communities and leaves taxpayers footing the clean-up bill.
