Homeowners are being slapped with petty fines of up to £1,000 by jobsworth council officials for leaving even a single item of rubbish outside their properties and campaigning against local cuts to services.
Bungling staff have threatened a single mother who left furniture outside her property to go to a good home with prison and fined a man for putting his bins out a day early when he was going on holiday.
Officials have even slapped a five-year-old girl with a £1,000 fine and threatened to take her to court after falsely claiming a warden saw her fly-tipping – before being forced to admit no worker had seen anything of the kind.
It comes after a woman was issued an on-the-spot fine for passing out leaflets to fellow residents in Leicester campaigning against council cuts because she set up a camping table.
As UK councils are being accused of lacking common sense, residents up and down the country are being warned to have extra caution before doing anything outside of their own home and driveway.
Experts told MailOnline councils may seek to fine people for offences ranging from leaving a single black bin bag next to a full bin to not having a level bin lid.
But they added it’s ‘always’ worth challenging a fine if individuals think they have been issued incorrectly.
A grandmother was this week slapped with a £100 fine for setting up a camping table in the street – after being told it breached anti-social behaviour laws.
Ben Riley, in Ipswich, put black bins bags out next to his bin, thinking it would be fine as he had done the same before while living in another part of the country
Clyde Strachan, from west Kensington, put his bins out a day early as he was going on holiday and returned to a fine
After mowing the lawn, Adam Castledine, from Bramcote, deposited all the garden waste in a bag, which he placed near the back gate. He later received a £1,000 fine
A grandmother campaigning against council cuts was fined because a camping table she set up on the street was judged to be an ‘unauthorised structure’
Heather Rawling, 72, of Fleckney, Leicestershire, was hit with the penalty notice after setting up the 2m table in Leicester to campaign against council cuts.
But while she was campaigning on May 31 she was approached by a street warden who ordered her to dismantle it, branding it an ‘unauthorised structure’.
The retired humanities teacher was told she was in breach of a public spaces protection order (PSPO), designed to combat anti-social behaviour such as street drinkers and e-bike riders.
She received a £100 fine three days later but vowed to fight the matter in court, where she estimates the bill could rise to £1,000 if she loses.
Mrs Rawling has now slammed council bosses for trying to prevent political campaigning after they accused her of putting up an ‘unauthorised structure on the highway.’
She said: ‘We were in the city centre and had a little campaign stall where we were protesting against the cuts by Leicester City Council.
‘We were there for about half an hour and then the street wardens saw us. I accept the PSPO can be needed to deal with people on e-bikes, noisy speakers or street drinkers.
‘But this was a small camping table which we had for leaflets and so people could sign a petition. I firmly stood my ground as I feel this is an attack on people’s rights to campaign.
‘There are people up and down the county who do campaign stalls and tables everywhere. All I had was a camping table two metres long in a wide pedestrian area. I don’t think we were in anybody’s way. There was plenty of space.
‘I was not obstructing anybody, I wasn’t causing a nuisance. The council might think I’m a nuisance, but in terms of passersby and pedestrians, they didn’t care at all.
Heather Rawling, 72, of Fleckney, Leicestershire, was hit with the penalty notice after setting up the 2m table in Leicester to campaign against council cuts
Mrs Rawling, who is a member of the Socialist Party, now has until June 14 to pay the fine – but says she would rather go to court than pay
Ms Rawling said: ‘I’m not going to pay it on principle, and if I have to go to court, I will. All groups should have a right to campaign’
‘The warden asked me if I was aware of the PSPO and explained what it was and asked me if I was prepared to take the stall table down.
‘He asked for my details and I was reluctant to at first. He even said he would call the police so I gave him my information. He issued me with a fixed penalty notice.
‘I think this was political – we were asked to take it down because we were campaigning about council cuts.’
Mrs Rawling, who is a member of the Socialist Party, now has until June 14 to pay the fine – but says she would rather go to court than pay.
She added: ‘I plan to plead not guilty to it. The danger is if I lost in court, they could charge court costs. I am taking a risk, but I feel strongly about this issue.
‘I’m not going to pay it on principle, and if I have to go to court, I will. All groups should have a right to campaign.
‘The council issued the PSPO order that includes amplification, people on e-bikes and e-scooters. At the end of the order they’ve tagged on unauthorised structures like stall tables.
‘We are in an era full of austerity and cutbacks and despite more and people getting angry about what’s happening they don’t want us to protest about it.’
A Leicester City Council spokesperson said: ‘This group had put up a table, in breach of the Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) that covers the city centre.
‘One of our wardens asked them to take down the table and advised that if they didn’t, they would be issued with a fixed penalty notice. They refused to take it down and so a fine was issued.’
It is just the latest example of overbearing council officials issuing fines for petty ‘offences’ including offering free furniture and putting out bins ‘too early’.
Clyde Strachan, 37, (pictured) decided to help refuse collectors by placing his rubbish outside his West Kensington home shortly before midday in May
Meanwhile a husband who surprised his wife by tidying up the garden has been hit with a £1,000 fine after leaving a bag of waste at the back of their property.
While his wife was away caring for her father, Adam Castledine, 42, wanted to clear the garden before the return of his partner.
After mowing the lawn, Mr Castledine, from Bramcote, deposited all the garden waste in a bag, which he placed near the back gate.
This was due to the bag being too heavy to lift alone, with the couple planning to put the bag in the car and take it to the tip upon Mr Castledine’s wife’s return.
Two days later, however, on May 22, the family was hit with a £1,000 fixed penalty notice from Broxtowe Borough Council for fly-tipping.
Just last month a 37-year-old from West Kensington was fined £1,000 after putting his bins out a day early before going on holiday.
Clyde Strachan decided to help refuse collectors by placing his rubbish outside his West Kensington home shortly before midday in May.
He then went away for a week and when he returned was faced with an ‘environmental enforcement notice’, which demanded he make contact with Hammersmith and Fulham Council.
The engineer then received an £1,000 fixed penalty notice, stating: ‘There was one large box, six bags of waste, and one food bin deposited on the pavement and left.
‘It isn’t collection day so it shouldn’t be there. There is no formal right to appeal, however the council will accept representations from you within seven days.’
He said at the time: ‘I spoke on the phone to one of the council officers and said I was willing to receive a warning but felt a £1,000 fine was excessive.
‘I said I had put the bins out early as I was not available the next day. It was an honest mistake. I didn’t feel as though I needed to grovel, but it felt like that was what he was after.’
The fine has since been retracted after a review found ‘Mr Strachan made an honest mistake and is not a persistent fly-tipper.’
Isabelle Pepin, from Bournemouth, Dorset, thought she was being community minded and environmentally friendly by offering the unwanted furniture to someone in her neighbourhood to have
Miss Pepin was stunned when a council official knocked on her door three weeks later and told her she was being fined for fly-tipping and even threatened her with prison
The 42-year-old stuck a sheet of A4 paper on the IKEA cabinet stating it was free along with an chest-of-drawers from the same furniture store
In September, single mother Isabelle Pepin, from Southborne, Dorset, placed an Ikea chest of draws and stacking cabinet outside her home, along with a sign stating they were free for anyone to take.
The chest of drawers was quickly snatched up, and after a few hours, Ms Pepin returned the stacking cabinet to her property.
She was then stunned to receive a £500 flytipping fine by council officials, who turned up at her doorstep three weeks later – even threatening her with prison.
Ms Pepin, who lives with her eight-year-old son Bear, was making his tea when the council official turned up on her doorstep and demanded to know her name and date of birth before issuing her with the fine.
She said she started to record the visit on her mobile phone because she felt ‘intimidated’.
She said: ‘I have lived in this property for 12 years and I see people in the area leaving things out probably every other day. I love the community factor of it.
‘It’s not fly-tipping, that is not what is happening here. It’s recycling things people no longer want or need.’
She added: ‘He then told me that the maximum penalty is £50,000 and prison time. I am usually quite a confident person but by this point I was shaking and panicking.
‘He didn’t show any documentation or anything in writing. He did show me an ID card but it was very basic. It was just a picture of him, his name and BCP Council.
‘He said I needed to give him my name and address and I would be committing another offence if I didn’t. He then printed off a ticket, saying I had 14 days to pay £500 or it would go up to £1,000.’
Ben Riley was dragged to a ‘formal interview’ and slapped with a £500 fine by Ipswich Borough Council in Suffolk for putting rubbish bags next to his already packed wheelie bin
In Ipswich, new resident Ben Riley was also fined £500 after he put several black bin bags filled with rubbish outside his home next to his wheelie bin.
Mr Riley, who had just moved from Essex where he lived for 28 years, said: ‘My wheelie bin was full. I’ve only recently moved to Ipswich from Essex. I lived there 28 years of my life and the council never moaned about a bag next to a wheelie bin before but here it’s a big deal.
‘Back home, you could happily put rubbish bags next to your bin and they would be taken by the binmen. I have never been issued with a fine or anything in the 28 years I lived there.
‘I also got mixed up with which bin was being collected that week, so it was six days before bin collections.
‘It’s not like I’ve dumped a mattress or a television set in the middle of the road. It’s next to my back gate.
‘£500 for a first offence is a bit extreme. I have just put general waste next to my wheelie bin because it was too full.’
He added: ‘It is ridiculous how extreme it is. I have been threatened with five years in prison or an unlimited fine if this goes to court.’
The council turned down an appeal by Mr Riley and said leaving bin bags on the street ‘can cause public health issues and encourage anti-social behaviour.’
And in December, a north London council tried to take a five-year-old girl to court after she was accused of flytipping by Harrow Council, which said a member of their team had witnessed her drop a parcel.
It later emerged that no officer had in fact seen the five-year-old do anything of the sort, and instead proceedings had begun after the parcel, with her name on it, was found in a nearby street.
Deborah and Ian Day (pictured) received individual £200 fines after putting an envelope in a public bin in Stoke-on-Trent
The couple each received a fine from Stoke City Council after jobsworths fished out the envelope and traced their address
But rather than check the identity of the name, officials immediately sent a letter to the family home issuing the child with a £1,000 fine.
With Christmas just around the corner, she was advised that they were ‘about to instruct the council’s legal team to start court proceedings’ against her. The letter also warned her that a conviction carries a maximum £2,500 fine.
After multiple appeals and requests for help from the father, the council eventually rescinded the fine and said that fining children ‘is not official council policy’.
It came after Deborah and Ian Day, from Stoke, were charged £400 after one of them placed a single envelope in a public bin on her way to work.
Deborah Day, 47, who lives on Dividy Road, in Bentilee, Stoke-on-Trent, was shocked when both she and her husband were issued with £200 fines after council workers fished the envelope out of the bin.
Council investigators said this breaches sections 87 and 88 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and constitutes it as an offence of littering because household waste cannot be put in a public bin.
The hairdresser said: ‘I have received a letter from the council with a fine of £200 and my husband (Ian) has received one too because apparently we’re both to blame.
‘It is for an empty envelope inside a bin and the council has even attached a photo of the envelope which had my address on it in their letter’.
Eamonn Turley, a legal specialist at Multi Quote Time, told MailOnline: ‘A lot of individuals fall into traps without even realising they’ve committed an offence.
‘Examples include placing an extra bag of rubbish on top of or next to your wheelie bin if it’s already full—most councils, including Birmingham and Manchester, class that as fly-tipping, even if it’s clearly household waste.
‘Another is not flattening cardboard boxes enough and having them sticking out of a recycling bin with the lid open. Councils like Leeds or Bristol can fine householders if the bin lid is not level, as this can jam the machinery at collection.
‘And then there is contamination—putting the wrong item in your recycling, like a pizza box with food on it or a plastic bag, which can lead to a whole bin being rejected and tagged. What’s complicated is that many people are trying to be helpful but, not having seen what’s allowed, they inadvertently fall foul of the rules.’
He added: ‘To avoid these fines, the most important thing residents can do is familiarize themselves with their specific council’s waste disposal regulations because there is no one-size-fits-all rule for the entire UK.
‘For instance, some councils like Westminster or Camden in London have exact time frames when you can take out your bins for collection—miss them, and you’ll be fined.
‘Others, particularly in rural areas, may be less concerned about timing but more stringent about what you put in each bin.
‘Fly-tipping, even dumping something as seemingly innocuous as a mattress or a cardboard box next to a communal bin, is a criminal offence in the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and can result in considerable fixed penalties of up to £400—or prosecution in more serious instances.
‘The safest thing to do is to arrange bulky item collection through your council’s own service or to personally take items to the tip or recycling centre. Councils also target hotspots with CCTV or plain-clothes officers, so it’s just not worth the risk.’
