A GRANDMOTHER has been hit with a £600 fine by her local council after being accused of fly-tipping a single cardboard box.
Carole Wright, 83, took some rubbish to the recycling point outside her local community centre in October.
The pensioner says she placed everything in the correct recycling bin.
Days later, however, she received a letter from a contractor working on behalf of Reading Council warning she could face a criminal conviction for fly-tipping.
The letter included a photograph of a worker holding a cardboard box with Carole’s address printed on the side.
Her daughter, Catherine, insists her mum disposed of the box properly and believes it must have been blown out of the bin by the wind.
She says the bins were already full at the time.
Despite the family’s explanation, Reading Council is pushing ahead with legal proceedings – a situation Catherine says has had a devastating impact on her mum’s health.
In an emotional appeal to council bosses, Catherine said: “My mum keeps saying she doesn’t want to go on any more. She’s just staring at walls, crying. She’s not eating.
“Her health has really declined since this all happened.
“I’m just so worried about her, she’s such a lovely person – she’s the best mum you could ever have.
“She moved here 57 years ago, she’s never done anything wrong. She’s committed no crimes.
“I just think it’s awful that they’re targeting this poor woman for a single box at her age.
“The bins were overflowing – she’s turning 84 soon so she’s a bit forgetful.” she added.
She said the family initially thought the letter was a scam – until they rang the number provided and were told it was genuine.
They were then referred back to the contractor handling the case.
“I rang them and I explained – I was in tears on the phone, saying this is really upsetting my mum, because she doesn’t know what to do,” Catherine said.
She claims she was told she would need to provide medical evidence to excuse her mother’s actions – something the family says they are unable to do.
In January, Carole, a grandmother-of-four, received a final letter from the council threatening court action.
Catherine said: “They said ‘you have failed to respond’, which isn’t true.
“My brother even went into the council to ask what we could do, and the only thing they told him was to ring Reading Council support, which we’ve done.
“It keeps going round and round in circles.”
Catherine says the family cannot afford to pay the £600 penalty.
They have since set up a GoFundMe page in a bid to raise the money.
A Reading Council spokesperson said: ‘Residents have told the Council that tackling litter and fly tipping is one of their top priorities, and we have a duty to all residents to investigate any incidences of fly tipping.
“After a box of waste was found at the site in October last year, further information was requested from Ms Wright, but no response was received within the 30-day period.
‘We remain fully open to dialogue with Ms Wright and welcome her assistance to the investigation, which we hope will allow them to close the case with no further action required.’
