MORE than 20,000 householders have been threatened with legal action for flytipping because they left binbags next to their wheelie bins.

Many of the people receiving letters from Blackburn with Darwen haven't even broken council rules on putting all rubbish inside bins but just happen to live nearby.

Now people with too much waste are offering binmen cash to take extra money or pleading with neighbours to take their rubbish off them in a bid to avoid £1,000 fines.

People who leave their bins out for too long could also be fined.

But council bosses in Blackburn with Darwen claim there is no reason why people generate too much rubbish for their wheelie bins.

They defended their actions today claiming that it will cut back on fly-tipping, improve recycling rates and make the borough a cleaner place.

Their letters, threatening enforcement action which could ultimately lead to court action, were prompted by complaints from binmen that more and more people were leaving bin bags next to wheelie bins on collection days.

Opposition councillors today blasted the hardline stance, and claimed a return to weekly bin collections for all would solve the problem.

At the moment, around half of the borough only gets non-recyclable waste collected once a fortnight and many people insist they are collecting too much waste, so have no choice but to put down extra bags.

But because many wheelie bins, particuarly those lined-up in back alleys, don't include a house number, council bosses have blitzed whole streets where just one or two bins extra bin bags have been noticed.

Once someone has been issued with a caution, they can be taken to court if they are caught offending again.

Coun Michael Lee, a Conservative on Blackburn with Darwen, said: "The solution would be to reintroduce the weekly collection for all waste.

"It obviously isn't working and it isn't right that some areas of the borough get a weekly collection and others gets a fortnighly one.

"It would solve the problem altogether."

On yesterday's bin round In Guide, residents said they were fed up of the poor service.

Housewife Kimberley Bottoms, 41, of Spinning Avenue said: "I have a family of seven.

"I always have extra bags out. We can't cope with just one bin. I can't understand why they won't take the extra bags.

"I have even waited for them to arrive in the past and offered them money to take what's by the side. But they still refused.

"I have had to use my neighbour's bin too. We have to visit the tip every week or we would be surrounded by bags."

Retired photographer, James Abbott, 67, of Haslingden Road said: "It is completely over the top. People could do far worse than leaving too much rubbish or their bin lids open too far. Even we have to go to the tip ocassionally and its only me and my wife. They often leave more mess than than they collect anyway. Its a complete state on bin days. Collecting what's by the side would at least tidy the place up a bit if nothing else."

Peter Hunt, the Council's director of direct services, said: "To encourage the continued increase in recycling and cut back on the amount of litter and fly-tipping in the borough, the Council has stopped the collection of side waste from 'hot-spot' areas.

"Hot-spot areas have been shown to have a problem with high volumes of litter and unsatisfactory levels of fly-tipping. As part of the Council's 'Thrash the Trash' initiative, all properties in the areas affected have received a legal notice, explaining the requirements for the proper disposal of household waste.

"This includes separating paper, plastic bottles, glass and cans for recycling and placing these for collection in the appropriate recycling containers.

"This initiative will reduce the amount of the borough's waste sent to landfill and cut back on public health problems associated with 'side-waste' being left on the streets.

"These can split and cause severe littering and contribute toward an increase in the borough's rat population. Those residents who leave bins in the streets long before and after collection are also being targetted, as they can become a target for anti-social behaviour.

"The council hopes to make the borough a cleaner, safer, more pleasant place to live and work."