A grandmother has been fined £500 for fly-tipping after leaving a neatly folded bag of clothes next to a British Heart Foundation donation bin which was full.

Susan Cowdery, of Church Road, Hartley, donated her and her grandchildren’s clothes to the collection bin at Hawley Road on August 27.

When she arrived, she saw it was full and so placed her bags by the bin believing it must be due to be emptied imminently.

However, not long after she received a letter from Dartford council accusing her of fly-tipping and issuing a fine of £500.

The 66-year-old said: “I was shocked, and I went back to them and said I wasn’t fly-tipping.

In response, Dartford council says it appreciates that Susan's intent was good but the fixed penalty notice "will stand" as anything left outside the donation bank may be treated as fly tipping.

“I thought because it’s full-up it’s probably going to be collected soon.

“I abhor fly-tipping and fly-tippers. I am a responsible citizen who regularly clears litter from my roadside area.”

Despite appealing the fine, it was denied by the council but it did extend the deadline for the fine to be paid.

However, Susan and her husband Phil are refusing to pay, saying they are fighting on a matter of principle not finances.

Phil said: “The council doesn’t catch the real fly-tippers; this is a way of getting their numbers up.

“The sad thing is the British Heart Foundation will suffer now because we won’t put clothes in there.”

Susan, who has just retired, said: “We see it everywhere; all the fly-tipping with the mattresses. That’s what they need to sort out.”

In the five weeks after receiving the fine, Phil visited the Hawley Road donation site and said he found that each week it was brimming with donations and did not appear to have been cleared.

He also says signs to deter people from leaving bags are not next to the donation banks, with most signage on a metal fence on a different side to the bins.

The sign from Dartford council says: “Items left outside the bins may be considered fly-tipping” but Phil says the wording “of may be” suggests it may not be classed as fly-tipping.

Phil, a company director, said: “The fact it’s all neatly folded in a black bag, we thought that’s as good a reason as any for it not to be considered as fly-tipping.

“I’ve never seen the bin empty. If they are emptying it they are not doing it enough.”

When KentOnline visited the Hawley Road site with the couple, the bin had been cleared but Phil said this was the first time he’d seen it empty in almost six weeks.

The Hartley residents, who have nine grandchildren between them, feel a warning would have been a more reasonable response from the council.

Susan says the experience has been so “stressful” it has raised her blood pressure.

In August, we reported how around 35 people were facing £1,000 fines or court action after cameras caught them dumping rubbish close to but not in the recycling bins at Morrison’s in Northfleet.

Area manager for the British Heart Foundation Jack Watson said he was “sorry” to hear of Susan and Phil’s experience.

He admitted that out of four donation points in Dartford, the Hawley Road donation bin was the only one to be emptied fortnightly instead of weekly.

Jack said: “After hearing of Susan and Phil’s experience, we have temporarily increased the frequency of collections at Hawley Road to allow more people to generously donate their unwanted, good-quality clothes.

“If one of our donation banks is full or your local shop is closed, please don’t leave your bag outside.

“Contact your local shop during opening hours and they may be able to offer you a free collection, or invite you to bring your donations into the store at a convenient time. Alternatively, you can check to see if another nearby bank has space.

“We are very grateful for all quality donations which help us fund our life-saving research.”