Stafford firm fined £1,000 over eyesore ads

A company in Stafford has been ordered to pay almost £1,500 by the courts for advertising on eyesore banners along a main road.

The posters were tied to a hedge outside Stafford Carpets And Flooring on the Astonfields Industrial estate.

The promotional placards highlighted a "massive carpet sale" and the fact that the company now also sells beds.

But the firm has been prosecuted for displaying advertisements without consent, or fly posting, at Stafford Magistrates Court.

Officers from Stafford Borough Council photographed three advertising posters outside the business in April.

The court heard how they repeatedly contacted the firm asking for the signs to be removed from the highway but their requests were ignored.

Simon Turner, on behalf of the council, said: "In fact when an enforcement officer returned to the premises in March he found not only were the original posters and banners still there – even more had been added.

"Following further visits in April and May this year the officer found that the banners and posters had still not been removed."

He added that prosecution for the offence was a last resort.

The court heard that the company would not have been given permission to use the hoarding because it was considered to blight the area and was too close to the highway which could pose a risk to motorists.

The firm was not represented in court and instead pleaded guilty to the charge by letter. It was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £430 court costs. Bosses declined to comment afterwards.

By Marion Brennan