Solicitor critical of bin rules

Wheelie bins in the area are emptied fortnightly

A solicitor has criticised a council's policy on rubbish collection after his client was convicted of leaving bin bags in a car park near communal bins.

Magistrates at Llandudno were told that Cindy Fuller, 35, put the bags near skips at Llanfairfechan in Conwy because her parents' bin was full.

Brian Cunningham told the court she should only have been cautioned.

She received a six-month conditional discharge and was told to pay £100 in costs to the council.

Mr Cunningham said that had it been a Crown Prosecution Service or police case his client would have been given a caution for a first offence, and because she was of good character.

That would have saved money, avoided a court appearance for a perfectly respectable woman, and meant she had no conviction, he added.

It was, Mr Cunningham said, the council merely seeking publicity, so others would be deterred.

The defendant in evidence that the bin bags belonged to her parents and she had put them in the car park because of rats near their home.

The court heard she had placed the rubbish in the car park near bins for residents of nearby houses, and also skips, because she knew that rubbish was collected daily.

'Fly-tipping'

She had pleaded not guilty to a charge of depositing waste in an area without a waste management licence, which Mr Cunningham said was fly-tipping, a serious offence usually used against people who dumped mattresses, old fridges and other waste in forests.

The defendant said her mother had been unwell so she took her two bags to the car park knowing there was a daily collection.

Her mother's bin was full, a rat had been spotted nearby, and because of the council's "open lid policy" any bags placed against the wheelie-bin would not be removed during the fortnightly collection.

Mr Cunningham asked her if "everyone in Llanfairfechan was doing the same thing", and she replied "yes".

When cross-examined by Stuart Dunn, for Conwy council, she agreed the reason the lorry went there daily was because she and others had dumped waste there.

After the case, Conwy council said: "There's no excuse for fly-tipping and local residents should not have to tolerate this type of behaviour.

"Cleaning up fly-tipping costs us all money; it's dangerous and potentially harmful to health; it spoils our enjoyment of the surroundings and can cause serious pollution of the environment."