We’ve been fined £1,200 in bin mistake that’s NOT our fault – now we can’t afford Christmas presents for our daughter

A COUPLE has been slapped with a £1,200 good from the assembly for alert tipping aft 1 of their bin bags was nicked and ripped open.

Abigail Swinn, 24, and spouse Travis Raggo, 25, were shocked to person Boston Borough Council astatine their doorstep demanding they cough up for thing they didn't do.

Nursery idiosyncratic Abigail said: "It's ridiculous to deliberation we would alert extremity extracurricular our ain home erstwhile it was bin day.

"I person nary thought however the bin container was ripped open.

"At archetypal I thought it could person been a fox but determination was nary nutrient successful the bag."

The brace had near 2 bags extracurricular their location successful Boston, Lincs, afloat of second-hand apparel and home rubbish.

Unbeknownst to them, thieves had grabbed 1 of the bags to nick the aged apparel and dumped the discarded on the street.

The container and been torn unfastened and rubbish was sprawled connected the roadworthy 30ft distant from wherever the mates had primitively enactment it.

A fewer days aft the thieves had rummaged done bin bags, the assembly rocked up to the location and accused Abigail and Travis of alert tipping.

They were fined £600 each aft a discarded missive traced the rubbish backmost to their address.

Abigail, who is mum of three-year-old girl Lexi, is present acrophobic the household won't beryllium capable to spend Christmas.

The mates were amid renovating their chamber and filled up eleven rubbish bags successful the process.

After taking arsenic galore arsenic they could successful the car straight to the extremity themselves, they decided to permission 2 retired connected Monday, October 28 acceptable for Wednesday's collection.

To their horror, they were past slammed with the good and adjacent shamed connected social media.

The assembly posted a representation of 1 of the pairs bin container connected Facebook successful a bid to deter others.

Abigail added: "I looked connected Facebook and seemingly the time earlier a antheral had been pictured stealing idiosyncratic else's bin bags.

"I've heard different incidents of people's rubbish bags being stolen for immoderate apparel which mightiness beryllium inside."

She past reported the incidental to Lincolnshire Police which confirmed a study of anti-social behaviour.

Now Abigail fears the mates volition person to wage up due to the fact that if they suffer the court lawsuit they would hazard £50,000.

She said: "We can't hazard doing that, we don't privation a transgression conviction."

Fly tipping is an offence that Boston Borough Council has aimed to ace down connected and the organisation has handed retired 237 alert tipping notices successful a year.

It has warned that anyone caught alert tipping could beryllium issued a punishment announcement of up to £1,000.

The Sun has reached retired to Boston Borough Council for a comment.