£1,000 fine for leaving bins out. Tardy Bedford residents have been warned they could face a fine of up to £1,000 if they leave their bins out for too long.Bedford Borough Council has fired off letters to 65,000 homes telling residents they will face the penalty if they leave their wheelie bins in the street after they have been emptied.

The fines would be the largest ever imposed for such an offence despite the fact that they have been called “clearly disproportionate” by government ministers.

Bedford homeowners could be slapped with the fine if they fail to remove their bins from the street within 24 hours of their rubbish being collected. The charge is 12 times higher than the on-the-spot penalty handed out to shoplifters.

The council said empty wheelie bins are a hazard for the blind and partially-sighted as they navigate the streets of Bedford.

A spokesperson for the council said: “We have been working with Sight Concern Bedford and the Royal National Institute of Blind People to encourage households to put their wheelie bins away, to help make pavements safer for blind and partially sighted people.

“Where we receive reports of households repeatedly leaving out bins which can cause problems to such people, the council will write to the households concerned and advise that this is an offence for which they may ultimately be fined.”

The £1,000 fine is the largest possible penalty under the 1990 Environmental Protection Act.

Local resident Matthew Hipkin told the Daily Express: “It’s an absolute waste of council money and time to have people walking the streets checking if someone has put their bin away. I understand the principle of keeping the streets clean but the council has put across its point in the wrong way.”

Source: totallymoney