COUNCIL bosses have been slammed for sending "intimidating" letters to vulnerable Burnley residents which threaten £1,000 fines for recycling errors.

They include a 78-year-old chair-bound multiple sclerosis sufferer who had put an orange juice carton in his cardboard refuse sack.

The pensioner, who has never even received a car parking ticket, was left "greatly upset" for being "made to feel like a criminal" for his innocent mistake.

Burnley MP Kitty Ussher and opposition councillors also criticised Burnley Council for the "heavy-handed" approach.

The orange juice cartons are glazed and should not be included with cardboard, but critics said it was an easy mistake to make.

Dozens of the letters have been sent out to Burnley residents who had not separated their recycling in accordance with the guidelines following the introduction of tough new recycling rules in the borough last month.

The council's rethinking waste officer Helen Ryder, who has signed the letters, said she had not wanted to upset residents, but that a whole lorry load of recycleable materials had to be dumped in landfill sites if a single juice carton was found.

The 78-year-old man, who does not want to be named, said he had put the Tetra Pak carton in the claret sack in all innocence.

He said:"I struggle every week to separate my rubbish in the first place but I try to abide by what I thought was the rules.

"I thought an orange carton was made of cardboard so that was the sack I put it in. Then I got the letter saying if I did it again I could be fined £1, 000.

"I was very shocked because in all my life I have never even had a parking ticket let alone any other sort of fine.

"It has upset me greatly and I fear that a lot of other old and disabled people will be made ill if they get a similar threatening letter. It makes you feel like a criminal."

The letter spells out that it has been noted that on the pensioner's last recycling collection his claret sack contained the wrong type or contaminated materials'.

It goes on: "Section 46 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 gives local authorities the power to specify what categories of waste should be placed in which bins.

"Failure to comply with this legislation may constitute a criminal offence, punishable by a fixed penalty notice or fine of up to £1,000."

Mrs Ussher said: "I think people should recycle but £1,000 does seem a little steep.

"I think the council should be offering advice and support rather than scary letters to vulnerable people."

Coun David Halsall added: "They should have had a little bit more thought about who was going to receive these letters and what reaction there would be."

Coun Gary Frayling said "I think it's quite heavy-handed.

"Lots of boroughs will take juice cartons and anything else, and this is one of the things I'm hoping to point at the council - doing that would mean none of these problems would arise."

In a statement to the Lancashire Telegraph, Helen Ryder said: "The last thing we want to do is upset residents.

"In recent months we've had increasing problems with some people putting other rubbish in the bags.

"We've tried to tackle this issue by providing information to the public but unfortunately the message is either not getting through to everyone."

And Coun Charles Bullas, Liberal Democrat portfolio holder on waste, said any vulnerable residents could come and discuss the matter with him.

He added: "We do look after the elderly and I'm sure our officers would be more than willing to go out and see them and discuss the matter with anyone who wanted to."