Council row erupts as pensioner slapped with £300 fine for leaving charity donation bag on her doorstep
A 73-year-old woman and her elderly neighbour were threatened with £300 fines after leaving charity collection bags outside their homes.
Barbara Wheeler put out a bag of clothing at her Tonbridge, Kent, home for a charity to pick up.
Her neighbour Margaret, aged 84, did the same.
Both pensioners then received letters from Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council demanding payment of a fixed penalty notice within a fortnight.
The local authority’s letters accused the women of committing a criminal offence by depositing litter.
Both women were told they could face prosecution and penalties as high as £1,000 for leaving the bags at their doorsteps.
Council officials said the charitable donations were illegal dumped rubbish, and warned the pair that it constituted a criminal offence under law.
Mrs Wheeler and Margaret were each instructed to settle the £300 fixed penalty within 14 days to avoid further action.
Barbara Wheeler and her 84-year-old neighbour Margaret were threatened with fines
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The threat of court proceedings left both pensioners distressed.
Mrs Wheeler went on to warn her neighbours not to leave out collection bags for charities.
“The council had gone mad,” Mrs Wheeler said. “They are using ruthless methods.”
She also claimed a council officer had intimidated her neighbour during the incident.
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According to Mrs Wheeler, the official told Margaret he had a camera and warned that anything she said could be used as evidence in court.
The encounter has left the 84-year-old deeply shaken.
Margaret is now too frightened to answer her door, Mrs Wheeler revealed.
The council has now said the fines were rescinded because it was “clear that these kerbside charity collections should not have resulted in action”.
Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council went on to apologise for the fines
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Council leader Matt Boughton, who apologised, said: “We are urgently reviewing the circumstances to ensure this does not happen again and will continue to work with the residents.”
On Wednesday, Mrs Wheeler said: “I had one of the councillors turn up, they’d had a meeting this morning and said it’s all been thrown out and you should never have been fined in the first place.”
She also confirmed Margaret’s fine had also been cancelled.
