Gran slapped with £500 fine for putting folded clothes in donation bin

Susan Cowdery, 66, was fixed a hefty good for donating apparel (Image: SWNS)

A stunned grandma received a £500 good for ‘fly-tipping’ aft leaving a neatly folded container of apparel adjacent to a afloat donation bin.

Kind-hearted Susan Cowdery, 66, brought her aged apparel and others belonging to her grandkids to a British Heart Foundation postulation slope successful Dartford, Kent.  And arsenic it was brimming with garments, she placed her bags by the bin believing it was imminently owed to beryllium emptied.

But not agelong aft her enactment of charity, she received a missive from her section assembly accusing her of fly-tipping - and issuing her with a good of £500.

The OAP, who regularly removes rubbish from the roadside, said she was horrified by the proposition that she had deliberately blighted her section area.

She said: “I was shocked, and I went backmost to them and said I wasn’t fly-tipping. I thought due to the fact that it’s full-up it’s astir apt going to beryllium collected soon. I abhor fly-tipping and fly-tippers. I americium a liable national who regularly clears litter from my roadside area.”

British Heart Foundation postulation slope successful Dartford, Kent (Image: SWNS)

Susan, who received the good connected August 27, said she had aboriginal appealed to Dartford assembly to disregard the hefty penalty. But portion she said the section authorization had agreed to widen the deadline for the payment, they refused to cancel it.

Susan and her hubby Phil Cowdery are present refusing to wage up, saying they are warring the good connected a substance of principle.

Phil claimed: “The assembly doesn’t drawback the existent fly-tippers, this is simply a mode of getting their numbers up. The bittersweet happening is the British Heart Foundation volition endure present due to the fact that we won’t enactment apparel successful there.”

Susan, who has conscionable retired, urged the assembly to tackle much pressing instances of rubbish dumping. She added: “We spot it everywhere, each the fly-tipping with the mattresses. That’s what they request to benignant out.”

For 5 weeks aft receiving the fine, Phil visited the donation tract connected Hawley Road and recovered that it was brimming - and did not look to person been cleared.

Susan urged the assembly to tackle much pressing instances of rubbish dumping (Image: SWNS)

He besides says signs to deter radical from leaving bags are not adjacent to the donation banks - with astir of the instructions connected a metallic obstruction connected a antithetic broadside to the bins.

Phil, a institution director, said: “The information it’s each neatly folded successful a achromatic bag, we thought that’s arsenic bully a crushed arsenic immoderate for it not to beryllium considered arsenic fly-tipping. I’ve ne'er seen the bin empty. If they are emptying it they are not doing it enough.”

When reporters precocious visited the tract with the couple, the bin had been cleared. But Phil said this was the archetypal clip he’d seen it bare successful astir six weeks.

The pair, who person 9 grandchildren betwixt them, consciousness a informing would person been a much tenable effect from the council. Susan says the acquisition has been truthful “stressful” that it raised her humor pressure.

Area manager for the British Heart Foundation Jack Watson said helium was “sorry” to perceive of Susan and Phil’s experience. He admitted that retired of 4 donation points successful Dartford, the Hawley Road donation bin was the lone 1 emptied fortnightly alternatively of weekly.

Jack said: “After proceeding of Susan and Phil’s experience, we person temporarily accrued the frequence of collections astatine Hawley Road to let much radical to generously donate their unwanted, good-quality clothes. If 1 of our donation banks is afloat oregon your section store is closed, delight don’t permission your container outside.

“Contact your section store during opening hours and they whitethorn beryllium capable to connection you a escaped collection, oregon invitation you to bring your donations into the store astatine a convenient time. Alternatively, you tin cheque to spot if different adjacent slope has space. We are precise grateful for each prime donations which assistance america money our life-saving research.”

Dartford Council has been contacted for a comment.