A skip hire company has been fined after repeatedly leaving a skip on a Barking road without permission, despite being given several opportunities to pay fixed penalty notices and avoid prosecution.

Ready Skips Ltd, based in Leigh-on-Sea, was ordered to pay a total of £1,130 at Barkingside Magistrates Court on 3 March 2026 after being found guilty in absence of depositing a skip on the public highway without permission on two separate occasions.

Environmental Enforcement officers from Barking and Dagenham Council first spotted the unlicensed skip on Devon Road, Barking on 16 July 2025. Checks with the council’s Highways team confirmed the company had no permit to place the skip on the road. When officers returned two days later, on 18 July 2025, the skip was still in place.

Two £100 fixed penalty notices were issued, reduced to £50 each if paid within 14 days. Reminder letters were sent on 19 August 2025, but the company failed to pay and did not discharge its liability, prompting legal proceedings.

The case was heard at Barkingside Magistrates Court on 3 March 2026, where Ready Skips Ltd was found guilty in absence. The company was fined £350, ordered to pay £500 in costs to the council, and issued a £280 victim surcharge, bringing the total to £1,130.

Ready Skips Ltd were previously prosecuted in 2024 for a similar offence and fined £1,491.11