A woman was left "deeply shocked" after she was fined around ₹55,000 for leaving an IKEA cabinet outside her home. The woman had kept the cabinet, which she used for her son's toys, outside with a sign offering it for free in the UK. A council officer knocked on her door following which she moved the cabinet and disposed it of, Sky News reported.
However, few days later, the officer knocked on her door again with an enforcement camera on his chest and told her that she was being filmed. The officer handed over the fine order to her for fly-tipping. Fly-tipping is the activity of illegally leaving waste or unwanted objects next to a road, in a field, in a river, etc.
"He read the caution speech to me - so that was very nerve-wracking. And then he issued me with a £500 fine for fly-tipping," she said.
Actually it's a nice thing to do for your community and a good way to recycle useful, unwanted items. We're all supposed to be trying to be greener - recycle, reduce, reuse," she said.
"I think it's wasteful to throw away something that's still got a lot of life in it, I think it's far better to pass it on to somebody else who's going to get a few more years' use out of it. I think people have been doing this for the last decade without any idea that could be construed as flytipping and they could possibly get a fine," the woman, a single mother, said.
Bournemouth councillor Kieron Wilson stated that the council takes action against fly-tipping to maintain clean neighbourhoods and foster a sense of pride among residents. The woman shared that several local councillors have backed her. She remains hopeful that her appeal will be successful and the fine overturned.