Woman loses fly-tipping appeal over free cabinet

Ms Pepin said she believed in "keeping things out of landfill"

A woman fined £500 for fly-tipping after leaving furniture outside her home for free collection has had her appeal rejected.

Isabelle Pepin left the cabinet in front of her house in Southbourne, Bournemouth, and said she had hoped someone else in the community could still make use of it.

But Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council said it had been left on a public highway and people wanting to give away items in this way should place them on their own land.

Ms Pepin said she was "disappointed" her appeal against the penalty had been denied.

An enforcement officer had visited the house to ask that the cabinet be moved off the street, after which Ms Pepin moved it onto her driveway.

She said he then returned to her doorstep three weeks later to issue the fine.

"We've been doing this for about 12 years and we've never had any indication that it was illegal," she said.

The council said the cabinet had been left on the road for four days, had no sign indicating it was free to take and would have had no purpose for a freecycle due to its "condition".

But Ms Pepin disagreed, claiming there was "still life left in it".

'Easy targets'

A fixed penalty notice issued by the council for fly-tipping is £500 if paid within 14 days or £1,000 within 28 days.

If unpaid, the matter could go to court, which Ms Pepin said she was taking legal advice about.

"I do feel this is an excessive fine," she said. "There was no intention of fly-tipping. It was outside my own house."

She said the council should be focusing on people intentionally dumping items on "country lanes", rather than fining people outside their own homes.

"I feel like the council are trying to make quick money out of easy targets," she said.

Kieron Wilson, the authority's portfolio holder for housing and regulatory services, said fly-tipping was a major issue for residents.

"If you leave waste on land that isn’t yours, you risk a heavy fine," he said.

"We encourage anyone who wants to leave items still in good condition for others to pick up and reuse, to do so on their own property."