A couple have been slapped with a £400 littering fine - after one of them put an envelope in a public bin.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council has hit Deborah and Ian Day with individual £200 fines after fishing out the envelope which contained their address. Deborah, who lives on Dividy Road, in Bentilee, was on her way to work when she put the envelope in the public bin on her street.
But council investigators say this breaches sections 87 and 88 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and constitutes it as an offence of littering because household waste cannot be put in a public bin, reports Stoke on Trent Live.
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The 47 year old hairdresser said: "I have received a letter from the council with a fine of £200 and my husband has received one too because apparently we're both to blame. It is for an empty envelope inside a bin and the council has even attached a photo of the envelope which had my address on it in their letter.
"I was so distraught. I wasn't well anyway because I had Covid and I thought 'what the hell is this'? We have a lot of homeless people emptying bins and leaving rubbish around - it's ridiculous - I go to work and I pay my taxes.
"There was a man living in an empty freezer outside the One Stop shop and he left rubbish everywhere yet nothing was done about that. It's shocking and unbelievable, the world's gone mad.
"It's laughable, I've emailed and tried to appeal it but they still say we've committed an offence. I'm not paying it.
"They've even said they'll increase the penalty to £2,500 and threatened court action if we don't pay the £400. But I'll go to prison first.
"All just for one envelope. The council is
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