A personal trainer has been left fuming after a jobsworth Labour council fined him £600 for ‘fly-tipping’ an envelope he claims was ‘littered by homeless people who rummaged through the bins’ outside his home.
Robb McGeary, 43, thought he was doing the responsible thing when he threw an envelope in the bin outside his apartment complex in Ealing, west London.
However the father was shocked when he received a letter from the council stating he was under investigation for fly-tipping after the alleged incident on January 5.
Council workers discovered the envelope addressed to Mr McGeary on the street near his flat when they had been sent on a clean up job after the bins had been rummaged through and the contents littered across the road.
The area is a well known fly-tipping ‘hot spot’, the personal trainer told the Daily Mail. He said homeless people and drug addicts climb into the communal bins at night and search for scraps.
Old mattresses and furniture, drug paraphernalia and piles of bin bags had been dumped for weeks before the bins had been ’emptied across the street’, the father claims.
Mr McGeary, who lives in Ealing, west London, with his partner, her six-year-old autistic daughter and their five-month-old twin girls, said the waste had been left there for ‘well over a week’ before the council sent a clean up crew.
He believes that’s when binmen must have discovered the envelope amongst the debris before he was issued the fine.
Robb McGeary, 43, thought he was doing the responsible thing when he threw an envelope in the bin outside his apartment complex in Ealing, west London
The personal trainer said the area is a well known fly-tipping ‘hot spot’ where homeless people and drug addicts often rummage through the bins at night
The father said he has witnessed ‘homeless people out of their minds taking drugs, climbing into bins and actively tearing bin bags open’ in the middle of the night where he lives on Witham Road.
He told the Daily Mail: ‘The entire case against me comes down to a single item found in a bin bag in my flat’s communal bins with my name and address on it. No CCTV. No witnesses. They’ve sent me a fixed penalty notice for £600.
‘I live in an HMO [house in multiple occupation] building with outdoor, unlocked communal bins that are constantly overflowing.
‘At the start of the year the rubbish wasn’t cleared for well over a month, which luckily for me I documented as it became my counter-evidence.
‘It’s a well known spot for the homeless and drug users and dealers with people rummaging through rubbish or dumping extra waste nearby. Directly next to the bins is a massive fly-tipping spot that’s on the council’s own name and shame page.
‘I did exactly what you’re supposed to do, put my rubbish in the correct bins. Not on the floor or in the street. What happened after that is completely out of my hands.
‘One night the entire bins were emptied across the street, I have many photos. This wasn’t cleared up for well over a week and the day before the area was cleared I took another photo.
‘At 7am the next morning they opened a bag, found my address [on the envelope] – which coincidentally just so happened to be at the exact point [location] they tore the bag – and classed that as evidence of fly-tipping contrary to section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.’
The area was littered with old mattresses and furniture, drug paraphernalia and piles of waste for weeks before the bins were ’emptied across the street’
Mr McGeary, who has been a personal trainer for 17 years, lives in west Ealing with his partner, her six-year-old autistic daughter and their five-month-old twin girls
Mr McGeary was then issued a £400 fine, which he appealed using the photos as evidence that he was not responsible for the incident.
But the local authority refused his claim, increased his fine to £600 and has now threatened to take him to court.
Mr McGeary said it’s ‘frustrating’ that despite doing ‘exactly what you’re supposed to’, Ealing council has treated him like he is ‘guilty until proven innocent’.
The personal trainer has refused to pay the fine and accused Ealing council of a ‘complete lack of common sense’.
He said: ‘It’s worrying how easily this could happen to anyone. I will not be paying and am fully prepared to face them [the council] in court as I feel I have more counter evidence than they have evidence.
‘It genuinely feels like I’m “guilty until proven innocent”. Just because something with my name on it ended up in a bag, I’m being treated as if I personally dumped it on the street.
‘What’s worse is the complete lack of common sense. Anyone could have taken that item out of a bin, moved it, or added it to another bag. There’s no attempt to consider that, just a straight jump to issuing a penalty and a trial.
‘It makes me feel like I’m being put in the same bracket as people doing crimes on the streets. I’m being punished for their [the council’s] failure to do what they’re meant to do. It’s like they’ve said “let’s get money out of people by sending them fines”.
Pictured: Dozens of black bin bags had been dumped by the bins outside Mr McGeary’s apartment complex
Pictured: A copy of the letter he received on January 5 warning him he was being investigated for fly-tipping
‘It’s stressful, frustrating and honestly a bit worrying how easily this could happen to anyone. If all it takes is your name on a piece of rubbish, then anyone using shared bins is at risk.
‘My partner is a full-time carer for her daughter. I’m the only one working and I’ve had to work less to look after her and our twins. I don’t have the money [to pay the fine] and I shouldn’t have to anyway.’
The letter from Ealing council, seen by the Daily Mail and dated January 5, states the local authority is investigating a ‘suspected waste offence’ and that ‘evidence containing your name and address was found amongst the waste’.
The council officer said: ‘In order to assist with my investigation, I would like to give you an opportunity to respond to these allegations and provide your account before any decision is made in relation to enforcement actions.
‘This is your opportnity to mention matters you may wish to rely on in court should the London Borough of Ealing decide to initiate legal proceedings.’
The fixed penalty notice, issued later on January 21, states: ‘Evidence has been obtained with your name and address as committing the offence of lower fly-tipping contrary to S33 of the Environmental Protection [Act].’
An Ealing council spokesperson said: ‘We issue fix penalty notices either because we witnessed the offence or our investigations lead us to conclude an individual has committed an offence.
‘Before a fixed penalty notice is issued, we write to the alleged fly-tipper asking if they can explain why their waste might have been found fly-tipped.
‘Fly-tipping is a significant issue for residents and we are cracking down on this criminal activity.
‘Fly-tipping is a drain on council funds which is better spent on essential services for residents. It has a direct impact on the environment and our residents’ quality of life.
‘We launched, an awareness campaign: “This is our home, not a tip” which explains to our communities what fly-tipping is, its impact and how everyone can help by disposing of waste correctly.’