‘I asked for extra bins. Not possible said the council officer’

• A CENTRAL part to the Camden Council five-year plan is its policy on green spaces. Their creation and maintenance is central, not only to the planet as a whole but to dealing with local pollution by the absorption of carbon dioxide.

The council encourages residents to nurture such places. You might, therefore, expect officers to support those residents who labour voluntarily in conformity with council policy.

Not so from my experiences in Gospel Oak. My colleagues and I have transformed what was once a dog toilet and rubble-filled spot into a magic wild-plant garden.

Such is its success that local residents enjoy it. But some leave litter. And they do so, in some cases, because the litter bins are full.

The council in its wisdom removed four some time ago. The lack of bins means that we cannot always transfer our pickings to an empty bin.

Elsewhere in the council there is an outsourced firm, Kingdom, which hunts down and fines litter louts.

A recent case was the £400 fining of a disabled pensioner. Fearing this would happen to me, I asked for extra bins. Not possible said the council officer.

I then asked for a letter explaining my role which would exempt me from such a fine. Not possible replied the officer.

Why are officers allowed to behave in this manner, which is not only contrary to council policy but hardly conducive to voluntary effort?

Perhaps managers, as was the case with officers who ordered the tent homes of ten homeless people to be thrown into a dust cart, do not know what their staff are doing… according to the council’s own report.

For me the choice is simple, risk a £400 fine or stop my work. I will choose the latter.

MICK FARRANT, NW5