Resident who reported fly-tipping to council is fined £400

by · Mail Online

A public spirited resident, who reported fly-tipping to her council, was fined £400 after petty local bureaucrats turned on her and said it was her fault for not stopping it happen.

Julie Hancock, 51, complained to Stoke-on-Trent City Council about rubbish left by her wheelie bin in an alleyway behind her home last September but, instead of helping, the local authority issued her with a fine.

The council even added an extra £80 on to the penalty after she admitted to permanently leaving her wheelie bin in the unadopted alleyway in Burslem.

A number of locals had previously complained about the fly-tipping hotspot but the council has refused to get involved because it is not adopted, meaning it has no responsibility to maintain it.

When officials investigated the area in December, they found a piece of cardboard containing the driving instructor's address among the rubbish and slapped her with a fine.

Julie Hancock, 51, pictured with the wheelie bin she was fined for leaving in an alleyway behind her home. The driving instructor was also fined for reporting fly-tipping in the area
Ms Hancock pictured with the letter from Stoke-on-Trent City Council informing her of her fine, which has since been rescinded 

The local authority has since quashed the £400 penalty as a 'gesture of goodwill'.

EXCLUSIVEREAD MORE: Woman fined £580 for fly-tipping carboard boxes outside a Tesco claims she was 'recycling' and says 'I didn't do anything wrong' (but photo of her rubbish proves she was bang to rights) 

Ms Hancock said the extra £80 fine, which was issued because she failed in her 'legal duty' to keep her bin off a 'public highway', has also been rescinded but the council has not confirmed this.

She said: 'I was fuming. I reported the mess, so why would I add my name to it? 

'The alleyway is horrific. There's been a big long red cushion, bags of blood with animal debris in it, a pushchair, and a highchair. 

'I reported it to the council in September but nothing was done about it. 

'The council doesn't take responsibility as it is unadopted.

'I always take the rubbish to the tip. I'm on first name terms with the lads there. I always clean the alleyways up. 

'Nothing happened until December when I got the fine through the door.'

Issuing her with the fine, the council's environmental crime department stated: 'Regardless of who placed the waste at the location, the allegation is not that you placed the waste at the location, but that you failed in your legal duty when transferring household waste. 

When officials investigated the area in December, they found a piece of cardboard containing the driving instructor's address among the rubbish and slapped her with a fine

'You stated within the formal interview that you permanently leave your wheelie bins out within the alleyway which is not taking reasonable measures to prevent this from happening.'

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Ms Hancock added: 'When I came home I was so fuming about it but I had no other choice, I agreed to pay the £80. I felt like I was being pushed up a corner.

'But why should I? I haven't done anything wrong. What have I failed in doing? 

'I admitted I put my bin in the alleyway. Will everyone who keeps their bin in the alleyway get a fine?

'Even if I put it in my garden, someone could access it. They want me to get a mesh wire fence with 24-hour CCTV in case someone wants to touch my bin. 

'It's farcical. It goes beyond all the guidelines.' 

A council spokesman said: 'The environmental crime team is investigating the matter and in accordance with the council's zero-tolerance approach will hold to account those who irresponsibly dispose of waste. 

'We cannot comment further as the investigation is still ongoing.'