A single mother-of-five was arrested and hauled before a court for the first time in her life after putting her rubbish out in bin bags – because her wheelie bin had been stolen.
Stacey Storey reported the stolen bin to police and as she waited for a replacement she put her rubbish out in strong black sacks, tied at the top.
A council warden warned her against using the bags so she arranged for a relative to take her refuse away for her.
But when the relative forgot to do so the 31-year-old found herself in hot water with the wardens again.
The mother of five was slapped with a fine she could not pay and on Tuesday she was arrested at her home in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, and taken to Newton Aycliffe magistrates court.
A judge took pity on the clearly anxious mother and handed down a conditional discharge after she appeared charged with one count of depositing controlled waste on land without a permit.
Stacey Storey, pictured, was arrested and hauled before a court for the first time in her life after putting her rubbish out in bin bags – because her wheelie bin had been stolen
Katherine Hazell, prosecuting on behalf of Durham County Council, said a neighbourhood warden spotted the bagged rubbish behind Stacey’s home in Bell Street, Bishop Auckland, and told her she needed to move it.
She said: ‘A neighbourhood warden found four black bin bags filled with rubbish on Bell Street on February 20th. Evidence was found which linked the rubbish to the defendant and her address.
‘The warden went to the address and spoke to the defendant, who confirmed the rubbish was hers. She was told it was unacceptable to put her rubbish in the street and she was issued with a letter.’
Ms Hazell said that weeks later the warden saw more bags of rubbish had been left in the street and Ms Storey was issued with a fixed penalty notice for £400, reduced to £180 if paid within 10 days.
After failing to pay the fixed penalty notice and attend a subsequent court hearing, Stacey was eventually arrested earlier this week.
Stephen Andrews, mitigating, said his client had no previous convictions and had never been to court before.
He said: ‘Put simply, she is struggling, she is a single mother of five children who is doing her level best.
‘This began when her bin was stolen, she reported it to the police and made arrangements for a relative to take her rubbish away for her in the meantime.
‘All the rubbish bags were tightly tied, and she was disappointed when her relative didn’t remove the rubbish as agreed.
‘When she was issued with the fixed penalty notice she was in no position to pay it, and she was unable to get to court in Peterlee. She contacted the court to explain that she was having difficulties getting there.’
District Judge Roger Lowe asked Ms Hazell why Stacey was not given more help when she told the warden her bin had been stolen.
He was told that the onus was on Stacey to order a replacement bin – at a cost of £20 to the struggling mother.
To rub salt in the wounds, pictures taken today, just a day after bin collection, show the alleyway behind her home lined with rubbish placed out in bin bags all the way along.
Stacey says she can’t understand why she was singled out – and has now discovered that as a family of six she’s entitled to three bins which should have been delivered to her.
To rub salt in the wounds, pictures taken today, just a day after bin collection, show the alleyway behind her home lined with rubbish placed out in bin bags all the way along
She said: ‘There was a loud knock at the door before 8 on Tuesday morning and when I opened it there were police officers standing there. One of them said ‘we have a warrant for your arrest.
‘I stood and stared, I just couldn’t believe it and at first couldn’t understand why they would want to arrest me.
‘They explained that I had to appear before the court that day and if I refused they’d return later and it might mean my kids had to be taken care of by social services while I was in custody.
‘I was panicking and asked if I could have time to get the children looked after – they were all getting ready for school and nursery.
‘I rang my mum, my dad and my sister and asked them to come over as soon as they could and they came to look after the children while I was led into the back of a police van.
‘When I got to the police station at Peterlee I was put in a cell for two hours until I could appear before the court by video link.
‘As I sat there in the cell I was really scared and wondering what was going to happen to me – all over putting my rubbish in black bags.’
Stacey was given a conditional discharge for 12 months and ordered to pay a fine of £350, which is being deducted from her fortnightly income support of £80.
A worker from One Point, the council’s family advice unit, was assigned to Stacey and discovered that she should have had three bins instead of the one that was stolen.
Stacey said: ‘The bin went missing months ago. I reported it to the police but I didn’t get a replacement so the only thing I could do was put my rubbish out in strong black plastic bags.
‘Loads of people do it in the alleyway and I didn’t realise I was doing anything wrong. People also come from other parts of the town and fly tip rubbish there.
‘All I did was put my rubbish in thick plastic sacks that were securely tied while I waited for a new bin that never came.
‘I was singled out because the warden tore my bags open and got my address from some letters in there. After that they were determined not to let it drop but it seems unfair I was singled out.
‘All this has led to us getting two new bins plus a recycling bin – why couldn’t that have happened without me being arrested in front of my children?’
After the hearing, Oliver Sherratt, Durham County Council’s head of environment, said: ‘Where possible, we will always try an education approach first as in this instance where on the first offence, a duty of care warning letter rather than a fine was issued, and the resident advised that she needed to contact the council for a new bin.
‘However, it was disappointing to see more rubbish left out when we returned weeks later.
‘Regrettably, we had to make the difficult decision to charge £20 to replace lost or stolen bins in April 2011 following an unprecedented reduction in government funding.’