Fly-tipping: Boston Borough Council doubles fines to £400

Boston Borough Council said it had received more than 300 reports of fly-tipping a month

A council criticised for slapping shoppers with fly-tipping fines for leaving items at supermarket recycling points is to double its penalties.

Boston Borough Council has vowed a "zero tolerance" approach to unauthorised rubbish dumping, with offenders set to pay £400.

But its "unclear rules", and reports of fines for dropping off clothes at charity bins, have prompted a backlash.

The authority said fly-tipping in the area must be stopped.

Locals said it was unfair to target people attempting to leave recycling at a designated drop-off site, where items are often placed alongside overflowing containers.

John Maddison said he was hit with a fine after dropping off clothing earlier this year.

"The clothes bank was full, so I put two bags outside with the rest of them that were already there, and I get a fine for £200," he said.

"I shan't do it again - I'd rather put them in the bin and burn them."

John Maddison was fined after leaving bags outside a clothes bank in the town

Aggie Babiak was also ordered to pay £200 but said she was unaware she had done anything wrong by dropping off some items of clothing.

"I didn't now that if you left a bag next to the container it was classed as quite a serious offence," she said.

Local Facebook groups have featured criticism of the enforcement, with some saying the council should put more effort into targeting "real fly-tippers", not those who had made "a genuine mistake".

One person said the bins at supermarkets were regularly full and "they should try emptying them more regularly".

Aggie Babiak said she was fined after leaving bags with clothing outside a charity collection point

Councillor Deborah Evans, who leads the authority's waste management efforts, said there were "unacceptable" levels of illegal dumping in the Lincolnshire town and surrounding rural areas.

"Those dumping waste on our country lanes and streets don't care about our borough and together [we] must unite to address the issue," she said.

However, Ms Evans acknowledged the council needed to "properly inform the community on what is and isn't acceptable, after a number of complaints from people fined for leaving items outside collection bins at supermarkets and other venues.

"We don't want to alienate people for trying to do the right thing," she said.

Some of those fined had left items outside official collection points due to them being full

However, she added: "Going forward, should any waste be littered or fly-tipped in the borough - including at the bring sites - the council will have a zero-tolerance approach and those offenders should expect a fixed penalty notice."

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The council has urged anyone who considers they were unfairly targeted to get in touch.