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Woman fined for wheelie bin 'nuisance'

4:19pm Friday 8th August 2008

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A woman has been fined £200 for leaving her wheelie bin out on the street for too long.

Charlotte Aspel, of Wellington Street, Jericho, was taken to court by Oxford City Council after failing to comply with legal notices issued by the council asking her to remove her bin which was causing a "nuisance on the pavement".

She was caught leaving her bin out in May, June and August 2007, then again in February 2008, when she was issued with a £100 fixed penalty notice.

She failed to pay and was summoned to Oxford Magistrates' Court on July 28 where she was convicted in her absence and fined £200 and ordered to pay £150 costs.

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JMac, Oxford says...
5:10pm Fri 8 Aug 08

If you ask me, that fine is wheelie quite excessive.

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Phil Gale, Oxford says...
5:16pm Fri 8 Aug 08

Hang on. The bin is Council property, isn't it? They delivered it whether I wanted one or not. So leaving council property on a council pavement is an offence? Whatever next?

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Mr Mcgoo, Can't see. says...
5:40pm Fri 8 Aug 08

If the council are so greaved about people "leaving" their wheelie bins on the pavement, why don't they stop the bin men putting them there in the first place?

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Tom, Headington says...
6:00pm Fri 8 Aug 08

An infestation of maggots left residents of a block of flats disgusted - and blaming Oxford's refuse collection system.
The council shuld be fined for this one !!!!!

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Dave, Abingdon says...
6:07pm Fri 8 Aug 08

Shut up Tom.

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Mr Ison, England says...
6:11pm Fri 8 Aug 08

Do they not consider illness?

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Andrew, Oxford says...
9:48pm Fri 8 Aug 08

Shame Ms A didn't turn up in Court.

Interestingly, there was a similar case in Edinburgh recently where a "customer" left their bin on the pavement *too* early and was fined by the council. Trouble was it was on a private street (for historic reasons a number of roads in Edinburgh are owned by the residents) and the council had no right to fine her.

Aren't some roads/streets in Ox owned by the colleges rather than the council?

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Phil, Oxford says...
9:02am Sat 9 Aug 08

Tell the council you cant cope with a bin and ask for the free lilac sacks.

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Sid Hunt, says...
9:10am Sat 9 Aug 08

£100 fixed penalty for leaving a bin on the footpath, £80 fixed penalty for shoplifting. Absolutely bonkers!

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ricky, oxford says...
3:29pm Sat 9 Aug 08

she got worse than the ex addict ? shows the way oxfords goin ?

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MIKE, oxford says...
4:12pm Sat 9 Aug 08

Stupid woman. Got what she deserved.

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Chris, Oxford says...
8:06pm Sat 9 Aug 08

As far as I am aware it is illegal to obstruct the pavements - so how on earth the councils of Oxfordshire can ask the public to deliberately break the law by leaving wheelie bins and rubbish bags on the road side and then fine them is beyond me.

If a member of the public walks into your wheelie bin or trips over your rubbish bags or has to walk onto the road to go around them and steps into the path of cyclists or motor vehicles (mums with prams and push chairs, toddlers, elderly folk or blind people just four examples) and an injury occurs who does the injured person sue you or the council ?

Unless the councils are going to hold them self legally responsible for all wheelie bins and rubbish bags left on the pavements or road ways every member of the public is at risk from being potentially sued. To cover your selves I would urge every one to ask their council for written confirmation that you will not be held liable for any such possible expensive law suit.

The simple answer of course would be for councils to go back to collecting rubbish from your garden (if you have one of course) this would ensure no more costly fines for leaving your bin out and would ensure no one over fills your bin when it you have left it out and gone to work (another fine) and no injury claims!

Finally the vast majority of households want weekly collections despite want your council would have you believe and dictate you must have.

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I am not a delusional Jericho resident, says...
8:11pm Sat 9 Aug 08

Whatever the rights and wrongs of the original fine, she deserved to be fined heavily for showing compent for the court,by not showing up.She is not above the law.She deserved to be fined for this.



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r, east oxford says...
8:26am Sun 10 Aug 08

I only wish the council would show more consistency. Around East Oxford for example, there are piles of rubbish outside properties next to overflowing or even empty wheelie bins, constantly. But it seems its the excepted norm around here.

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simplicissimus, Jericho says...
10:09am Sun 10 Aug 08

The city council seems to hold Jericho in contempt.

Dr Frances Kennet (lovely woman who stood for the Cons) lives here, and made national headlines about our rat infestation.

OCC needs a scapegoat! They prefer such to be people who won't fight their corner in court, or whom it will cripple financially, and who may be ineligible for "green card" Legal Aid.

Is it odd that the NuLab dominated OCC penalise the constituents of Labour Jericho councillors (Mayoress) Susanna Pressel and development chair Colin Cook?




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Mr Ison, England says...
11:59am Sun 10 Aug 08

I had wondered about those lilac sacks,i saw them on the street divorced from residence or business premises.

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ASBO, Oxford says...
8:43am Mon 11 Aug 08

The councillors have criticised CanACT for costing so much in staffing and securing pitifully few ASBOs. Instead of getting off their bums, the officers are now going for octogenarians and soft targets, in order to fulfil their own "targets", and justify their ineffective cost to taxpayers. A street trader was already fined, and additionally the City Council also want to get an ASBO on him. They'll try the same with this woman, probably, to hit "targets". Pity they mostly hit the wrong ones! Jericho is a favourite hunting ground, ie for easy ASBOs. Drug dealers on the estates are harder work, so left largely unmolested.

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Frances Kennett, Oxford says...
10:56am Mon 11 Aug 08

I don't understand why waste operators (dustbin men) can throw boxes back wherever they like, leave green waste bags floating in the breeze, and dump emptied wheelie bins blocking gateways. Yet a woman can be fined for leaving a bin which is totally unsuitable for the neighbourhood, out of the street for too long.

I still fight against this system, even though I have moved from Jericho to a house north of Summertown, with a side passage, so I can manage better. (Forced out by punitive action from the Council, in fact.) Kind words have been uttered about returning to weekly waste in densely inhabited urban neighbourhoods in Oxford, but they are delayed. Delayed, delayed, yet no fine to the Council!! What's several months of inaction compared to a few days and one hweelie bin? It's all so disproportionate.

By the way, I resent people referring to Jericho residents as delusional. Many people have a perfectly natural sense of wrong when they are forced to reduce their domestic hygiene habits. Otherwise, why would this issue run and run?

Frances Kennett

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rats, wantage says...
10:14pm Tue 12 Aug 08

the tossers who empty my bins spend more time hurling my bin lids and lobbing my bins around than they do actually emptying the things! it's your job you idiots so do it properly!

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Osumma bin Loadin, Oxford says...
4:06pm Fri 15 Aug 08

http://www.dailymail

.co.uk/news/article-

1045313/Binmen-barri

caded-angry-neighbou

rs-refusing-pick-bac

klog-rubbish.html

At LAST the REVOLT begins. MUCH further yet to go. Civil unrest until the arrogant council satraps do what we pay their bloated wages for.

I hope this inspires many, many more.

Jolly good. Keep up the fine work. The point needs driving home...

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R, Midlands says...
7:45pm Fri 22 Aug 08

Can't see the issue with the fine. Why can't people just put their bins back, just how hard is it?? Leaving bins on the street makes the place look awful. (Obvoiusly, for those who physically can't they should be given help by the local council.)

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