A woman was hit with a £400 fine by the council after leaving an empty cardboard box outside her home for her son to take to the tip.
Pamela Holmes ordered a new lid for her hot tub, which arrived in a 4ft 6in by 4ft 6in cardboard box.
Pamela, 69, placed the empty box on a grass verge outside her home in the village of Burton in Dorset, with her son planning to come out the following day to collect it.
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However, at some point during the night, the box was reported to the council and a warden turned up at Pamela’s home at 9.30am.
Pamela says the council worker ‘read her her rights’ and she even feared she would be arrested.
She was given a £400 penalty notice and warned that if she didn’t stump up the cash within four weeks she could be taken to court and given a maximum fine of up to £50,000.
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Pamela said: "I explained that I had left the box there for my son to pick up and he said, in light of my explanation, he was prepared to leave the matter at a fixed penalty notice.
"When he said it would be for £400, I nearly fainted. The fine has cost almost as much as the hot tub lid.
"I tried to tell him that I was not fly-tipping and, if I was, why would I leave something outside my own house with my name and address on it."
Pamela says she doesn't want to pay the fine, but doesn’t want to end up going to court and getting a criminal record.
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BCP Council, who issued the fine, say Pamela had ‘left a large item of waste on a grass verge and public land’ and that the council had seen an increase in the number of reports of fly-tipping in the area. The council also said Pamela was told she could launch an appeal.
A BCP Council spokesperson said: "Our contractors, Waste Investigations Support & Enforcement (WISE), administered the penalty notice on behalf of the council to the resident who had left the large item of waste on a grass verge and public land.
"This was in response to concerns raised in the area about an increase in fly-tipping and officers had advised the resident to follow the appeals process as outlined on the notice should they feel this is incorrect.
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"Our action on fly-tipping has increased significantly across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole since August with the partnership clamping down on instances of domestic or commercial waste to make our communities and streets cleaner.
"Inappropriate waste management threatens our environment, climate and public finances and people must act responsibly to help all residents, businesses and visitors in our area."
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