SIR – While I appreciate any effort to improve the appearance of Welwyn-Hatfield s streets, I don t see how fining people for putting bin bags out early is going to help. It was only a matter of time before this new directive from the Rubbish Mafia was

SIR - While I appreciate any effort to improve the appearance of Welwyn-Hatfield's streets, I don't see how fining people for putting bin bags out early is going to help.

It was only a matter of time before this new directive from the Rubbish Mafia was implemented in our area, but I do not believe it has been fully thought out.

According to the feature in the WHT (April 22) it was reiterated that we now have our rubbish collected from the boundary of our property - specifically our side of it.

The key word here being 'our'. If my rubbish is on my property, who are the council to say I can't keep it near to the boundary?

But apparently if I move it from my back garden to a particular part of my front garden before 5pm on the day prior to my collection day I will be rewarded with a �100 fine.

The second concern I have is who is liable to pay the fine? It's pretty obvious for a dog fouler, or a car dumper, or an inconsiderate parker, but who is responsible in the household for the rubbish?

If my son decides to do me a favour and puts out the rubbish at 4pm (unlikely I know, but there's always a slim chance) is it him or me that gets the fine. In the normal course of events, I would expect there to be some sort of evidence to say who committed the 'crime' but in this case I suspect not.

Maybe the householder will be presented with a form that required him/her to identify the rubbish monitor for that week so that they can be pursued - much like a speeding camera ticket.

And what if there is a neighbourly dispute going on, I can imagine that

rubbish fraud will be the next big community crime. Just pop home lunchtime and drop a bag of anonymous rubbish on that annoying neighbour's verge and watch him get stitched up.

I'm all for a drive to spruce up the area, but I think that the first effort in that direction should come from cutting the grass and trimming the overgrown hedges, bushes and trees along the many unwalkable paths and byways - the problem is, that doesn't add to the council's coffers.

Bob Kelly, by email