Mum hit with huge fine after bin filled with 'beer cans'

Lilly Bence, who lives on Church Street in Calne, says passers-by have been regularly dumping their waste in her bin since she moved there in January.

But this issue reached a breaking point during the Calne Bike Meet on Saturday, July 28, when thousands of visitors flocked to the town.

Ms Bence claims her bins were left overflowing after cans and beer bottles were thrown in by members of the public.

“My bins have not been emptied by the council because they were full of other people’s rubbish”, said the 22-year-old.

“They were full to the point that they were overflowing and the binmen wouldn’t take them.”

Ms Bence has had to take her rubbish to the tip (Image: Newsquest)

But the situation turned from bad to worse for Ms Bence, who lives at the address with her 15-month-old son Rio, when the council hit her with a £400 fine for fly-tipping.

This fine reportedly came as a result of Ms Bence leaving black waste bags next to her bin which was now full and had not been collected.

The single mother believes the punishment is unjustified because her bins were filled by passers-by.

She added: “I do think it’s unfair because it’s not even my rubbish, some of it was mine but most wasn’t.

“I think I should’ve been given a warning considering there was other people’s alcohol in there.

“It’s awful and really upsetting because I have a growing kid to buy for, so my money goes like anything and now I have to find £400 when I’m not left with that much every month.”

The street where Ms Bence leaves her bins to be collected (Image: Newsquest)

Ms Bence has since taken a large amount of waste to a local tip as her bins are yet to be collected.

She told this paper she has yet to pay the fine, after requesting a payment plan which she claims was denied, but has been given a deadline of September 11.

Wiltshire Council said that they could not go into detail when responding to Ms Bence’s complaints because her case was still ongoing.

They added that they had been working with residents in the area to resolve the issue.

Cllr Caroline Thomas, the cabinet member for street scene, said: “We take fly-tipping in Wiltshire seriously.

“However, as this is an ongoing case which we have been working with local residents to resolve, it would not to be appropriate to comment further at this stage.”

Calne Bike Meet committee vice chairman Greg Widger disputes the suggestion that their event was responsible for Ms Bence’s bins overflowing.

He also claims that she has not contacted the team to raise her concerns about the mess with them.

He told this paper: “We get support from Hills Waste in Calne, who supplied us with 24 large wheelie bins that were strategically placed around the town, including one 20 yards from Ms Bence’s bins.

“I litterpicked that area after the event ended and we go through the town with a fine-tooth comb to ensure there was no waste left over. 

"We often receive comments about how tidy the town is after the meet – some say it’s tidier than before the event began.”