Family's £1,200 fly-tipping fine after 'bin bag stolen from their home and dumped'
by Lee Grimsditch · Manchester Evening NewsA young couple have been hit with a hefty £1,200 for allegedly fly-tipping after one of their bin bags, taken from outside their home, was dumped just 30ft away. Abigail Swinn, aged 24, and Travis Raggo, 25, from Boston, Lincs, had placed two bags for collection when the incident occurred.
The discarded rubbish eventually led officials back to the couple, who both now face individual fines of £600.
Abigail, a nursery worker and mother to three year old Lexi, expressed her disbelief and concern that this fine might affect their Christmas budget. She argued: "It’s ridiculous to think we would fly tip outside our own home when it was bin day."
Adding to her defence, she said: “I’d even checked on the council website which stated you can leave up to four bin bags out with your bin.”
The ordeal began as the couple were clearing out their bedroom and took nine bags to the local tip, leaving two behind due to lack of space in their vehicle. These bags were left out for collection scheduled two days later.
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Following the incident, Boston Borough Council issued each with a penalty notice and posted an image of one of the accused bin bags on social media.
Recalling her unexpected encounter with local authorities, Abigail said: "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."
After reporting the peculiar case to Lincolnshire Police, who logged it as antisocial behaviour, Abigail expressed her frustration and appeals to the council, saying: "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 lost any court case we’d face a criminal conviction or up to a £50,000 fine. We can’t risk doing that, we don’t want a criminal conviction."
Boston Borough Council, taking a strict stance against environmental violations, can impose fixed penalty notices (FPNs) of up to £1,000 on offenders. With a commitment made in July to "eradicate" fly tipping, a spokesperson from the council claimed: "We take allegations of environmental crime offences very seriously as it impacts the cleanliness and safety of our community."
The council highlighted their success saying it had issued 237 FPNs issued within a year.
Adding: "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.”