Residents prosecuted for failing to retrieve their bins (From Runcorn and Widnes World)

Widnes residents face £500 bills for leaving bins in alleyway

1:30pm Sunday 12th February 2012 in News By World reporter

FAILING to take their wheely bins in after they were emptied has cost four Widnes residents £500 each.

None of them attended Runcorn Magistrates Court on January 30, to answer a charge of failing to comply with a notice relating to the storage of their bins.

The matters were proved in their absence.

Suzanne Edge, aged 27, of Foster Street, Michelle Muldoon, aged 24, of Foster Street, Debbie Clarke, aged 23, of Foster Street, and Lee Munro, aged 19, of Cooper Street, were each fined £200 and ordered to pay £205 costs and £15 victim surcharge.

Halton Council received complaints in early 2011 about residents in Cooper Street and Foster Street failing to retrieve their bins after they had been emptied.

Letters were sent warning them they would be served with a notice if they did not comply.

In March 2011, householders were given notices outlining the days and times their bins should be put out and retrieved.

Weekly inspections found wheely bins belonging to each of the four defendants had been left out the day after bin men had emptied them.

Warning letters were sent saying no action would be taken for the first breach but if it happened again, they faced a fine.

A further inspection found the four bins left out again and fixed penalty notices were served, They were advised that the penalty of £100 would be reduced to £75 if paid within 10 days.

Despite two further reminders, the penalty remained unpaid and the cases were taken to court.