I daresay that often these days, like me, you can’t believe what you’re reading. I had this experience yet again this week upon learning that a couple had been fined £1,200 between them (£600 each) for clearing up waste that had been discarded locally over a long period of time, and which was attracting animal scavengers, then bagging it up for eventual collection by their local authority’s refuse collectors. In my opinion the pair were saving Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s street cleaners a job that should have been kept on top of in the first place. The rubbish shouldn’t have been left there - either by the litter louts or the local council whose job it is, ultimately, to clean it up. But to fine the party that chose to look after the local environment, really does beggar belief, don’t you think? Now, Veronika Mike and Zoltan Pinter have vowed not to clean up other people’s rubbish ever again, even if it’s attracting rats. Frankly I can’t blame them. Their public spiritedness has given them a real slap in the face, in my view. 

  

I gather that one of the receptacles they’d used to collect and store some of the rubbish, was a box that had Mr Pinter’s name on it. They’d left in a random bin that’s used by the general community locally rather than individual residents, but someone had removed it. This led to an illegal dumping notice for 'failing to transfer household waste to an authorised authority'. 

  

Yes, I get that there are laws in place, but surely with a bit of savvy, this could all have been sorted out amicably? And what about ‘failing to keep our streets clean’, when this is a service that should be covered by our council tax? The couple and their neighbours claim that during the bin collection rounds, the refuse collectors only collect the bins and don’t bother picking up any rubbish they see lying around – something I’ve noticed in my own area, too. It’s well known that discarded rubbish attracts further rubbish, so it pays to deal with it immediately. 

  

Despite the pair having written to the Council explaining the situation and asking for the charges to be dropped – a letter that was also signed by several neighbours – nothing has changed. Sadly, while Mr Pinter was able to pay his fine immediately, Ms Mike – a regular volunteer litter-picker - couldn’t do so, and has now has to set up a GoFundMe crowdfunder in the hope of gaining some financial support. I’m really hoping that enough money’s collected to cover the fine in its entirety.