Rother District Council fines Battle woman for putting litter in bin

Olivia Post was slapped with a £400 fine by Rother District Council in December for putting litter in a council bin, after foxes ripped open bin bags near her home in Battle.

Ms Post spoke of her “astonishment” when a council official turned up at her door the next day to give her the fixed penalty notice.

It emerged that animals had again pulled the rubbish out and council officials had found Ms Post’s address in the waste.

She was told the small council bin outside her home could only be used for litter and not domestic waste.

She had reportedly broken section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

“We’re in this constant scenario of having litter and rubbish from all over the place being strewn across the car park,” she said.

“During the snow it was particularly bad because nobody came to empty the bins, there was even more litter strewn around than unusual.

“So, I went and picked the litter up, took the rubbish bag out of my kitchen, which obviously had some of my waste in.

“It would never have occurred to me that was a problem.

“The following day I get a knock on my door from this officer who managed to get up the icy pathway, which was quite astonishing to be honest, because we had no water, no shops open, we were literally cut off.

“I was astonished because the one service we got was somebody issuing fines.

“He asked me, “Do you recognise this bag?”.

“Of course, I said yes and he said, “I’m giving you this fine” and cautioned me - it’s very intimidating.

“He had his camera on and, just like the police, he read me my rights.

Olivia Post was fined £400 by Rother District Council (Image: SWNS)

“I was flabbergasted, I said “this isn’t even my rubbish apart from the stuff at the bottom”.

“I recounted what I’d done, said I’d gone out and picked all this litter up, which was vile litter, and put it in the bin.

“And he said “Well, it’s not in the bin now”.”

Ms Post’s appeal of the fine was rejected by National Enforcement Solution, a private company outsourced by the council.

But in a “gesture of goodwill” the council have since said they will “reimburse” her for the cost of the penalty notice.

A Rother District Council spokesman said: “Enforcement began in the summer to tackle to the growing issue of fly-tipping and littering, which is a real blight on our district.

"Enforcement officers can only deal with the situation they come across.

"In this case, rubbish was found on the ground that contained Olivia Post’s name and address, suggesting that the resident had failed to dispose of her waste properly, and she was given an on-the-spot fine.

"We appreciate that there are sometimes circumstances that we are not aware of and, having heard from Ms Post, we will reimburse her for the cost of the penalty notice as a gesture of goodwill.”