A ROW in the street between Wiltshire bin collectors and a disgruntled householder ended with rubbish all over the road – and more than £1,000 in fines and costs for the resident.

The incident unfolded in Carisbrooke Cresent, Hilperton, on June 28 this year, after bin collectors failed to take away a bin as it was ‘contaminated’ – containing large, bulky plastic items.

A crew from Hills Municipal Collections, Wiltshire Council’s contractor, was then shocked when a Land Rover Freelander pulled up in front of their lorry, blocking its path.

The owner of the vehicle – later identified by Wiltshire Police as Reuben Spong – got out and took the unemptied bin out of the car.

As he made his way to the rear of the bin lorry, the driver pressed the emergency cut off button, preventing Spong from being able to load the bin himself.

Spong then confronted staff, ripping a red contaminated warning label off the bin – placed by the refuse crew earlier that morning – asking if the loader was going to “f****** take it”.

The crew said the bin would need to be emptied of contaminated items first, at which point Spong pushed the bin towards the staff member – who said they could not take it.

At this point, Spong grabbed the bin, tipped the contents all over the road, wheeled it back to his car and drove off.

Earlier in the collection, the bin had been tagged with a red hanger as part of the council’s Recycling- let’s sort it! campaign, as it contained incorrect recycling and contaminated items.

Large, broken, black plastic items and food waste, which cannot be accepted for recycling, were in the bin.

After the incident, environmental enforcement officers traced Spong with help from Wiltshire Police and he was prosecuted for fly-tipping.

He was due to attend Swindon Magistrates Court on September 27, but left before his hearing and was subsequently issued with a warrant for his arrest.

He was arrested on October 30, and on November 8 at Swindon Magistrates Court pleaded guilty to fly-tipping.

He was fined a total of £1,133, including costs.

Reuben Spong has been ordered to pay more than £1,000 in fines and costs. Picture: Wiltshire Council

Cllr Nick Holder, cabinet member for highways, flooding and Street Scene, said: “We launched the Recycling – let’s sort it! campaign to raise awareness in our communities about the items that can and cannot be recycled in blue lidded bins, and to increase our recycling efforts.

“In this case, Mr Spong had items in his blue bin that we are unable to collect and our waste teams informed him of this with the red contamination hanger.

“If he removed the incorrect items, he could have put his bin out again at his next collection date. However, he took it upon himself to act inappropriately towards our contractors and fly-tip the waste in the street.

“This successful prosecution shows that we will not tolerate this type of behaviour towards our contractors, or fly-tipping in this way.

“I’d like to thank the refuse collectors on that day for their diligence and professionalism in dealing with the situation, and also Wiltshire Police for helping us to track down and prosecute this man.”

Nicola Towell, contract manager at Hills Municipal Collections, said: “The way Mr Spong acted towards our staff is totally unacceptable.

“Abuse of our staff, in any form, will not be tolerated and any threats towards them will be reported to the police.

“The crews are here to help and have the right to work in a safe environment. I’d like to extend my thanks to both Wiltshire Council’s Environmental Enforcement team and Wiltshire Police, who helped us find and prosecute this man.”

For more information on what can be recycled in blue-lidded kerbside recycling bins, visit www.wiltshire.gov.uk/recycling, and for details of what can be placed in general household waste bins, see www.wiltshire.gov.uk/household-waste.