Last Summer two council 'bin police' , wearing stab-proof vests and armed with camera's were confronted with the shocking discovery that , as the bins are emptied only every two weeks , 26 year old bus driver Gareth Corkhill and his family had reprehensibly put too much rubbish in their black wheelie bin , so that its lid was slightly ajar .
They were ordered to pay a £110 'on the spot' fine , which they declined to . Last week Mr .Corkhill was found guilty by magistrates and ordered to pay a £210 fine , plus £15 to help 'victims of violence' , which totals about a weeks wages for him . If he refuses to pay he's likely to be sent to prison , and he now carries  the stigma of having a criminal record .
In the 12 months to last April 44,000 householders  were fined for overfilling their bins , putting their bins out to be emptied on the wrong days , or leaving extra bags of rubbish alonside their bins .
"We will continue to crack down on the problem of overflowing bins" , said a council spokesman .
Oh to be a council bin-inspector , oh the pride , the joy , the  power . .  ' Oh my Gawd ,  Look what we've got here , Look ! -  the bastard's put a plasic bottle in the wrong bin !  I mean , what sort of an animal would do a thing like that ! I'd love to spend a few minutes in a locked room with him , I'd  teach 'im a lesson  . . .  '