Battle woman fined £400 for putting waste in bin

Olivia Post said she picked up the rubbish after wild animals had ripped bags apart near her home

A woman has said she felt "victimised and distressed" after she was given a £400 fine and accused of fly-tipping into a council bin.

Olivia Post of Battle, East Sussex, said she had picked up the rubbish from ripped open bin bags near her home.

But the company issuing the penalty told her council bins were for litter, not for controlled domestic waste.

Rother District Council has offered to reimburse Ms Post if she pays up but said the notice was issued correctly.

Ms Post told BBC South East: "It's bullying to be told I can't put rubbish in the bin and it's upsetting."

The waste in question, she explained, was not hers but had been "strewn everywhere by seagulls and foxes" in a council car park, which her home backs on to.

She said she taken a rubbish bag out of a bin in her flat, before collecting the waste and placing it in the council bin.

The next day, she said, an enforcement officer knocked on her door and issued her with a fly-tipping fine.

'Gesture of goodwill'

The company which issued the notice, National Enforcement Solutions, declined to comment.

In a statement, Rother District Council said the notice had been issued because the waste had been left "in a public place rather than disposed of properly".

It said notices were only given out if there was evidence of where the waste originated from, such as a name and address.

"In some cases, once [it] has been paid, the council may reimburse the charge as a gesture of goodwill, and we have agreed to do this here."

Josie Appleton, director of the Manifesto Club, which challenges "hyper-regulation" of public spaces. said public enforcement should be carried out by public officials, not private companies.

She added: "Councils should focus on the criminals, not the well-meaning, good-intentioned person trying to clear up their street."

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