A COUPLE were fined for putting their rubbish out in what they have described as a “big misunderstanding”.

Raz and Kerry Balmos, who live in Purbeck Court in Colchester, were told by neighbours to leave their bin bags at the front of the court.

However, the couple received a fine from Colchester Council, saying they had fly-tipped rubbish there.

Mr Balmos, who is a bus driver for Arriva, said they should not have been fined for simply putting the bins out.

He said: “When we first moved there about three years ago the rubbish wasn’t being collected as we are the last house in a little court, tucked away.

“Neighbours told us we needed to take it out to the front of the court and put it all in one place together, so we have being doing that since.

“We are now being threatened with court procedures if we don’t pay.”

Last week, they received another letter from the council as they had initially refused to pay the £100 fine.

They have also been accused of putting out nine bags of rubbish in one go - the limit is three - but the couple said the rest of the bags belonged to other residents.

Mr Balmos said: “We didn’t pay as we thought it was stupid. They don’t give you a lot of choice.

“I can’t take the time off to take it to court and it will cost money which I work hard for. It’s a big misunderstanding but they don’t want to hear about it.”

The rubbish collectors had opened one of the bags to find a letter addressed to Mrs Balmos, the manager of a care company.

Mr Balmos added: “My wife never litters, neither of us do and it’s so frustrating.”

The couple have reluctantly agreed to pay the fine to save losing out on more money. They said they would approach the council about the matter.

A Colchester Council spokesman said: “We are always happy to speak to customers who do not feel the fine they were given was justified, and there is an email provided for contact on our correspondence.

“If we find the customer has either evidence or mitigating circumstances, then we will cancel the fine. In this instance we have not heard directly from the customer but will be happy to contact them directly.”