Friday, March 10, 2006

Straight out of Little Britain....

Only in the UK could this happen.

I truly honestly believe that we have a bunch of busy-bodies running our councils with nothing better to do with their time than fine someone for dropping litter in a litter bin. In a Bin! The man put the litter in the bin. He didn't toss out of his car, he didn't dump it a public place, he didn't fly tip a ton of rubble. He had a bag of crud and he put it in the bin...

The BBC News website have been covering this here but the following is a statement issued by the Council concerned. These people are so up their own arses it's unbelievable. Get a life people. How about spending our money on something worthwhile.... Bozos...

Anyway, here is the statement:

" Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council
Council Offices, Argents Mead, Hinckley, Leicestershire, LE10 1BZ

PRESS RELEASE

ISSUED 10th March 2006

We issue a fixed penalty notice where we believe that we have sufficient evidence to show that someone has committed an offence. We would not issue a notice without sufficient evidence.
[Well d'uh - well done for working that out - give me some information here people]

We would not issue a fixed penalty notice to anyone for putting loose items of litter in a bin. We would only issue a fixed penalty notice to someone who we believe had placed a sealed bag of domestic or commercial refuse in an on-street litter bin.
[So let's get this straight eh? It's okay to put loose items in a bin, but it's NOT okay to put a sealed bag in the bin. What about an UNsealed bag? If I put a bag of crud in the street bin - which I pay to be emptied BTW through my Council Tax - I don't expect to have to worry about whether the bag is sealed or not]

On street litter bins are provided for the disposal of small amounts of litter; they are not the appropriate place for the disposal of a bag of domestic household waste because this would lead to over-flowing bins, littering in the street and an unpleasant environment for everyone. Unfortunately, there are a number of ‘hot spots’, where some residents use litter bins for the disposal of bags of domestic refuse. Fixed Penalty notices enable us to act to protect our residents and maintain a healthy, clean and attractive environment.
Bags of domestic or commercial refuse should be disposed of using kerbside collections.

If a bag is found we would search it for anything that would identify where it had originated, such as discarded mail. This would be kept as evidence. A fixed penalty notice, along with a photocopy of the evidence, is issued for the alleged offence of leaving litter. Anyone who is served with such a notice can contact us and we will review the evidence before deciding whether or not to proceed. To date, the complainant has not contacted this council to ask us to do this. Nevertheless, we have decided to introduce an immediate “amnesty” on existing actions until this particular matter has been properly determined; that decision will be made today.
[I'd really be keen to see how they would have reacted if the BBC hadn't picked this up and the Lord Chancellor, Lord Faulkner hadn't got involved. Probably some twatty little clerk would have told him to pay up and have done with it.]

Fixed penalty notices are issued under section 88 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
We are taking steps to provide better information to the public especially in those areas where litter has been a particular problem.
[So, you're going to spend more of your Council Tax income on sending out a gazillion leaflets? Oh, WELL DONE.]

I despair of my amazing, beautiful, country. It's being choked by red tape, nonsense like this, health and safety (don't get me started on health and bloody safety) and the government acting like we're a bunch of 5 year olds who need a stiff talking to from their Nanny (State) and an early night....

Interestingly, the Author for this POS document was "Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council" with the email address "customer.services@hinckley-bosworth.gov.uk"... LOL - no balls.... NO BALLS
>>>>>>>

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