Family fined $1,500 after trash bag was stolen from home and dumped

A young couple have been hit with a massive $1,559.53 (£1,200) fine – after one of their bin bags was stolen and thrown 30ft from their home.

Abigail Swinn, 24, and partner Travis Raggo, 25, left two bags full of household waste and old clothes for collection.

Thieves grabbed the bag and opened it to steal the clothes before dumping the rubbish 30 meters from their home in Boston, Lincs.

Days after the theft, an enforcement officer from the Boston Borough Council knocked on their door.

Officials said they had used the papers found in the rubbish to trace them to the couple and Abigail and Travis were both fined $780 (£600).

Abigail, who has a three-year-old daughter Lexi, says she now fears the couple will not be able to pay for Christmas.

The nursery worker said: “It’s ridiculous to think we’d be flying tips out of our house when it was rubbish day.

“I even checked on the council’s website, it said you can leave up to four bin bags with your bin.”

Abigail and Travis had renovated their bedroom and loaded garbage bags which they took to the top.

They could only fit nine in their car, so they left two bags with their bins on Monday, October 28, before Wednesday’s meeting.

Two days later, they were each hit with a fixed penalty notice and the council even shamed them by posting a photo of one of their bin bags on Facebook.

Abigail added: “We just thought the bins had been collected, but one day an enforcement officer knocked on our door and accused us of tipping.

“I have no idea how the bin bag was opened. At first I thought it might be a fox, but there was no food in the bag.

“I looked on Facebook and apparently the other day a man had been photographed stealing someone else’s bin bags.

“I’ve heard other incidents of people’s trash bags being stolen for whatever clothing might be inside.”

Abigail reported the theft of the bin bag to Lincolnshire Police, who confirmed a report of anti-social behaviour.

She added: “We haven’t paid the fines and I’m trying to get the council to cancel them because it’s just not fair. We’ve done nothing wrong.

“However, we may have to pay because if we lose any court cases we face a criminal penalty or up to $64,980.50 (£50,000) in the end.

“We can’t risk doing that, we don’t want a criminal conviction.”

Boston City Council Cracks Down on Fly Tipping and Culprits May Be Announced
fixed penalty notices (FPNs) of up to $1,300 (£1,000).

In July, the council vowed to “eradicate” the problem and boasted it had issued 237 issued FPNs in 12 months.

A spokesman said: “We take allegations of environmental crime very seriously as it affects the cleanliness and safety of our community.

“If a member of the public contacts us about a fixed criminal notice, we are committed to examining the circumstances surrounding each case and ensuring that due process is being followed.