A family have been hit with more than £1,000 in fines after dumping their rubbish into other people's bins.

The Ashford household was hit by three separate penalties after saying they forgot to put their bins out for collection after being caught flytipping on CCTV.

Ashford Borough Council was tipped off to the fly-tipping after CCTV at Kingfisher House residential block recorded two women driving up and disposing of rubbish in the bins.

The women took black rubbish bags from their car and dumped them in the communal bins, which are designated only for the use of tenants of the six-storey building in Ford Way.

Unfortunately for the pair, the building is council-owned, and investigating council officers confirmed that neither of them were tenants there.

After being tracked down and brought in for interview, the driver said that she had dumped the waste there because she had failed to put out her own bins for the collection.

In doing this she admitted failing in her Duty of Care responsibilities for her household waste, and both the driver and the passenger were issued £400 Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs).

A third person – a man who was the registered owner of the vehicle used to transport the waste – was also served with a £400 fine despite not being present when the offence was committed.

The third FPN takes the total fine to £1,200 for the incident.

A council spokesman said it "takes the illegal dumping of waste very seriously".

"Householders have a Duty of Care to ensure that they dispose of their household waste correctly," he added.

"If you are caught fly-tipping using a vehicle then the registered keeper is liable and fines will be served."