Labelled a criminal for overfilling a bin

A householder has been left with a £225 bill and a criminal conviction after over-filling his bin.

Gareth Wilson-Corkhill, of Whitehaven, Cumbria, was initially given a written warning by officers from Copeland borough council. But when he re-offended six months later, they fined him £110.

When Mr Wilson-Corkhill refused to pay, he was taken to court where magistrates found him guilty of failing to comply with the Environmental Protection Act. They ordered him to pay a £15 surcharge and £100 prosecution costs.

The 26-year-old claims that the bin was overfilled by four inches, although the council says it was "more like six". The father of three said: "I'm more annoyed now that I know I've got a criminal conviction. I might go for a job interview and be better than someone else, but the employer will see that I'm officially a criminal.

"If I'd just gone and thrown all the rubbish over a field I'd have got an £80 fine. It's laughable." He added: "We recycle everything we can, including plastics, cardboard, tins, glass and paper." Read more
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