A single Mum from Manchester has been fined £700 after putting her rubbish bins out a day early.
A single Mum-of-one has been ordered to pay over £700 in council fines simply for putting her rubbish out on the wrong day.
Victoria Clarke from Stockport, near Manchester was summoned to court by her local council after litter patrols spotted the misdemeanor.
The council claim that Miss Clarke left 8 sacks of refuse on a public highway near her home days before the collection date. However this is an accusation she refutes:
”There was no way I had eight bin bags out there. It's just me and my daughter and I put three bags out. The fact is there are other people living on the same row of terraces and they put their bin bags at the end of the entry as well.”
Continuing: “I only left my bags outside my gate before the collection date because and I didn't want my daughter playing in the back yard around it.”
Miss Clarke was initially served a £100 Fixed Penalty notice by the council for violation of Section 46 of the Environmental Protection Act, 1990. However, after she failed to make payment the council pursued the issue to court.
Although not in attendance herself when the case was tried, Miss Clarke was fined £350 for ‘the advancement of waste’ in addition to a £350.12 fee to cover costs and a £15 victim surcharge.
She has since announced her intent to appeal the court’s decision, dismissing the outcome as "ridiculous".
"I'm flabbergasted at what's happened." she said.
"There are people out there beating each other up getting drunk in the street and causing all sorts of trouble yet most of them seem to get a slap on the wrist. Meanwhile I'm getting a massive fine for putting out rubbish on the wrong day.”
'I'm a single mum and cannot afford to pay it - £700 represents two months' rent on this house and I've lived here for four years."
Stockport Council have since emphasised the seriousness with which they take refuse violations with Executive Member for the Environment, Councillor Stuart Bodsworth commenting:
“The Council is tackling litter and mess on every front, through investing in more street sweeping both mechanical and manual and by taking on environmental crimes like advancement of waste and fly tipping.”
