"Loretta Alvarez, 26, said the communal bins - shared with about 25 other properties - were full, so she placed the cardboard envelope on top of cardboard next to the bins. Ms Alvarez, who is a single mother, said she cannot afford to pay and is now being threatened with legal action. Hounslow Council said fly tipping was defined as leaving waste anywhere in public apart from in a bin, regardless of whether bins are full."
"Ms Alvarez said she would "never intentionally" leave rubbish out in the open. "It's been so stressful, I didn't want this to happen, I wouldn't want it to happen to someone else. "I've been trying to juggle this alongside work and being a mum - it's been hard." She thought a council worker picked up the letter with her address on, and assumed the rest of the dumped rubbish was also hers."
"Hounslow Council told Ms Alvarez she had until 5 November to make the payment in full, or she could face legal proceedings, in which she could be criminally charged. She said: "I don't have that money to give, I can't afford getting into debt to pay it, and I don't want to get a mark on my record. "I'm a mental health nurse, I went to university for three years. "They're fining me more than someone gets for speeding.""
Loretta Alvarez, 26, placed a cardboard envelope beside communal bins outside her Feltham flat after finding the bins — shared with about 25 properties — full. Hounslow Council issued a £1,000 fine, defining fly-tipping as leaving waste anywhere in public other than a bin regardless of bin fullness. Ms Alvarez, a single mother and mental health nurse, said she cannot afford the fine, fears legal proceedings and a criminal record, and that she would never intentionally leave rubbish out. The council briefly put the fine on hold for investigation but has not canceled it and reiterates a zero-tolerance approach to littering.
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