£225 fine for not closing lid,

A HOMEOWNER was fined £225 for having too much rubbish in his bin.

Gareth Wilson-Corkhill overfilled the bin so that the lid was open by FOUR INCHES. A council enforcement officer spotted it, took photographs and issued an on-the-spot fine. But fuming Mr Wilson-Corkhill refused to pay a £110 fixed penalty and was taken to court. He then copped the £110 fine – plus £100 prosecution costs and a £15 surcharge. Mr Wilson-Corkhill, 26, of Whitehaven, Cumbria, stormed: “I was in shock when I found out about the fine. I couldn’t believe they would do that. I don’t leave the rubbish on the floor. Every fortnight you can guarantee people’s bins will be open more than mine. “I have my rubbish collected every fortnight. There are five people in my family, three children, me and my wife. Plus I have my daughter over on weekends. We recycle everything we can. We have a black box that is always full. “It’s only an £80 fine for fly-tipping. I would have been better off doing that.” He added: “I was told I would go to prison if I didn’t pay the fine.” A spokesman for Copeland council, who nabbed Mr Wilson-Corkhill in January said: “We will continue to crack down on the problem of overflowing bins, which causes problems in the battle to reduce waste. “Much of your waste can be recycled either via the kerbside recycling scheme, or the nearest recycling collection site.” But Eric Pickles, Shadow Communities Secretary, said: “Over-zealous Labour policies imposed from Whitehall are shrinking the size of bins, reducing the frequency of collection and stopping rubbish bags being placed next to bins.” Mark Wallace, of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said the case was “another sorry tale of a hard working individual’s life blighted by petty bureaucracy”.