A young couple has been slapped with a massive $1,460 fly-tipping fine – after one of their bin bags was stolen and dumped 30 feet from their home.
Abigail Swinn, 24, and partner Travis Raggo, 25, left two bags full of domestic waste and old clothes for collection.
Thieves pinched the bag and ripped it open to steal the clothes before dumping the rubbish 30 feet from their home in Boston, Lincolnshire.
Days after the theft, an enforcement officer from Boston Borough Council knocked on their door.
The officials said they had used letters found in the rubbish to trace it back to the couple, and Abigail and Travis were both fined $730 each.
Abigail, who has a three-year-old daughter Lexi, says she now fears the couple will be unable to afford to pay for Christmas.
The nursery worker said: “It’s ridiculous to think we would fly-tip outside our own home when it was bin day.
“I’d even checked on the council website, which stated you can leave up to four bin bags out with your bin.”
Abigail and Travis had been renovating their bedroom and loaded bags of rubbish which they took to the tip.
They could only fit nine in their car, so left two bags out with their bins on Monday, October 28, ahead of Wednesday’s collection.
Two days later, they were each slapped with a fixed penalty notice, and the council even shamed them by posting a picture of one of their bin bags on Facebook.
Abigail added: “We’d just thought the bins had been collected, but one day an enforcement officer knocked on our door and accused us of fly-tipping.
“I have no idea how the bin bag was ripped open. At first, I thought it could have been a fox, but there was no food in the bag.
“I looked on Facebook, and apparently the day before, a man had been pictured stealing someone else’s bin bags.
“I’ve heard other incidents of people’s rubbish bags being stolen for any clothes which might be inside.”
Abigail has reported the theft of the bin bag to Lincolnshire Police, which has confirmed a report of anti-social behavior.
She added: “We haven’t paid the fines, and I’m trying to ask the council to cancel them because it is just not fair. We haven’t done anything wrong.
“We might have to pay up though because if we lose any court case, we’d face a criminal conviction or up to a $62,000 fine.
“We can’t risk doing that; we don’t want a criminal conviction.”
Boston Borough Council has cracked down on fly-tipping, and culprits can be issued fixed penalty notices (FPNs) of up to $1,220.
In July, the council vowed to “eradicate” the problem and boasted it had issued 237 FPNs in 12 months.
A spokesperson said: “We take allegations of environmental crime offenses very seriously as it impacts the cleanliness and safety of our community.
“If a member of the public contacts us regarding a fixed penalty notice, we are committed to reviewing the circumstances around each case and ensuring that the correct process is being followed.”
