2 days ago
'Stasi-like' Labour council fines stunned resident £1,000 for putting his bins out a few hours early
A Labour council who fined a resident £1,000 for putting his bins out a few hours early has been accused of acting like the 'Stasi'.
Clyde Strachan, 37, decided to help refuse collectors by placing his rubbish outside his West Kensington home shortly before midday in May.
He then went away for a week and when he returned was faced with an 'environmental enforcement notice', which demanded he make contact with Hammersmith and Fulham Council.
The engineer then received an £1,000 fixed penalty notice, stating: 'There was one large box, six bags of waste, and one food bin deposited on the pavement and left.
'It isn't collection day so it shouldn't be there.
'There is no formal right to appeal, however the council will accept representations from you within seven days.'
Mr Strachan told The Telegraph: 'I spoke on the phone to one of the council officers and said I was willing to receive a warning but felt a £1,000 fine was excessive.
'I said I had put the bins out early as I was not available the next day. It was an honest mistake. I didn't feel as though I needed to grovel, but it felt like that was what he was after.'
The fine has sparked criticism towards the council's 'law enforcement team'.
Likening it to the 'Stasi' - the secret police who helped maintain communist power in East Germany through spying and violence.
Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary said: 'Instead of cracking down on genuine anti-social behaviour, the state tries to reassert itself by punishing well-meaning people for tiny infringements.
'This huge fine for putting the bins out a few hours early veers into Stasi-like control of people's lives. This man was clearly doing the right thing in the circumstances.'
The fine has since been retracted.
A council spokesman said: 'Mr Strachan asked for a review of the FPN on May 28 when he let us know that the reason he put the rubbish out early was that he had been going on holiday the following day.
'The following day, the council froze the fine pending a review.
'We have since cancelled the FPN as we agree that Mr Strachan made an honest mistake and is not a persistent fly-tipper.'
