A mortified couple say they have been handed a hefty £400 littering fine by their local council for dropping an envelope into a public bin.
Deborah and Ian Day were each given individual £200 fines from Stoke-on-Trent City Council after the authority discovered the envelope, with the couple's address on it, in a public bin. Deborah claims she threw the envelope away whilst on her way to work but the council have argued that this breaches sections 87 and 88 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 which says household waste cannot be disposed of in public bins.
This is another letter the couple got from their council (Deborah Day)
This is one of the letters the couple recieved (Deborah Day)Deborah, a 47-year-old hairdresser, told Stoke-on-TrentLive: "I have received a letter from the council with a fine of £200 and my husband 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.
She continued: "I was so distraught. I wasn't well anyway because I had Covid and I thought ‘What the hell is this’?"
Deborah tried to contact the council to appeal the fines but she claims they are sticking by their decision to fine the pair for what they have dubbed a "littering offence", whilst also threatening the couple with court if they don't pay up.
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She said: "It’s laughable, I’ve emailed and tried to appeal it but they still say we’ve committed an offence. I’m not paying for it. They’ve even said they’ll increase the penalty to £2,500 and threatened court action if we don’t pay the £400. But I’ll go to prison first. All just for one envelope.
"The council is fining innocent people instead of cracking down on the people who actually do fly-tip. People throw settees and furniture out into the street and there’s rubbish all the way down to the field nearby. If I see rubbish on my street I pick it up and put it in the bin - it’s really annoyed me."
In response to Deborah's attempts to appeal the fines, Stoke-on-Trent council sent a statement that said: "There is no legal right to appeal a Fixed Penalty Notice for environmental crime offences. The Fixed Penalty Notice offers the recipient the option of avoiding court action by payment of a fine within 14 days from the date of issue."
It goes on to say: "Upon conviction in court, you could receive a much larger fine, additional court costs and a criminal conviction." Stoke-on-Trent City Council told the Mirror: "This case is currently under investigation with our Environmental Crime Team and we are unable to comment further at this time."
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