We were fined £1,200 by the council for cleaning up rubbish that was attracting rats – we just wanted to help
A COUPLE are angry after being fined £1,200 by the council for cleaning up their street after it was overrun by rats.
Veronika Mike, 41 and Zoltan Pinter, 46 from Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire were horrified after they were handed the hefty fine by the local council.
The pair said how their two-bedroom terraced house became a dumping ground for years – with people leaving waste around overflowing bins.
“A lot of people don’t use their own bin, they just put it on top of others,” explained Zoltan.
“The situation has become so severe that Veronika has spotted rats, cats and seagulls going through the litter.
“I’m actually afraid to walk past it in the street because I’ve seen a lot of rats and what looks like stray cats,” she said.
“They are attracted by the smell and tear through the plastic bags, that’s why there is so much rubbish scattered around the bins,” added Zoltan.
“The bins are in front of our main entrance, it’s disgusting,” Veronika said.
In April, Zoltan decided to take matters into his own hands and filled an old cardboard box with the food scraps and litter.
He placed the box beside the bins in the hope that Stoke-on-Trent City Council would collect it.
What are the laws on fly-tipping?
According to the UK Government website: Fly-tipping is illegal dumping of liquid or solid waste on land or in water.
The waste is usually dumped to avoid disposal costs.
In 2016/17 more than one million incidences of fly-tipping were dealt with by councils in England. The estimated cost of clearing up this waste was over £58 million.
Fly-tipping is a serious criminal offence for which you can be prosecuted. The courts have various powers available to them to tackle fly-tipping, including imprisonment, unlimited fines and an order to deprive rights to a vehicle used to commit the offence.
“We didn’t want to have to look at it for another week, he left the box by the bins, hoping the binmen would be able to collect it,” Veronika explained.
“I couldn’t put in the bins because they were full, so I left it beside them,” he said
Zoltan said that the cardboard box was a delivery box, and had his name and address written on it – resulting in the authorities thinking he was responsible for the rubbish.
Despite his good deed, he received a fixed penalty notice for illegal dumping and a £600 fine.
His partner Veronika was also hit with the same fine – even though her details weren’t on the cardboard box.
“There was a lot of rubbish lying around, but they don’t care, they just found one name on the box – Zoltan’s, and they charged us. It’s not fair,” said Veronika.
“Even though it was only my name on the box, they sent a fixed penalty to both of us. That’s very, very strange.
“I don’t understand why they sent a fixed penalty to Veronika.”
They have now vowed to never clear their street again “even if the rats come”.
“We just wanted to clean our street and that’s the thanks we get from the council,” Veronika said.
“At first I was very angry and I cried. I have volunteered for litter picking before and I essentially did the same thing and got two £600 penalties for nothing.”
Veronika and Zoltan have lived at the property for nine years and said how they’ve been battling people leaving household waste outside their home for a while.
“For the first few years it was ok, but after that it’s been messy in the street,” she said.
The couple sent a letter to the council signed by several of their neighbours stating Zoltan, who works as a mechanic, and freelance videographer Veronika were not to blame and asking them to reconsider.
But the council has not rescinded the £1,200 fine, which the couple are still paying through monthly payments, and considers the matter “resolved”.
The couple have set up a GoFundMe page to help them cover the fines.
Councillor Amjid Wazir OBE, cabinet member for city pride, enforcement and sustainability advised: “This matter has been resolved and all liability discharged.
“We remind residents and businesses that fly-tipping is an offence and all perpetrators will be met with a fixed penalty notice.
“Information relating to the legal way to dispose of waste is available at www.stoke.gov.uk/illegaldumping.”