A father-of-four has been left with a criminal record for overfilling his wheelie bin by four inches.
Gareth Corkhill, 26, of Whitehaven, Cumbria, received a £110 fixed penalty notice after Copeland Council staff photographed his raised bin lid.

When he refused to pay he was taken to court where magistrates added a further £115 to the fixed penalty. Copeland Council has defended its actions and pledged to continue to take action against overfilled wheelie bins.

Nice to know that Copeland Council has its priorities in order

The Council, like many local authorities, aims to reduce the amount of waste it sends to landfill, and offers a range of recycling facilities to help our residents do this. We must also enforce our waste policies to ensure that people do reduce the amount of waste they produce. If we do not follow the waste minimisation agenda that is being enforced nationally then we risk passing on major fines to all Copeland households.

If I were Gareth Corkhill, I'd be busy downloading plans for a truck bomb.