Man’s Shame At Criminal Record For Leaving Bin Ajar
“HOW did you get your criminal record, dad?” asks the little wide-eyed lad with the dilated pupils.
Most dads will regale their boy with the tale of smashing up the precinct, urinating through a letter box or robbing a bank for its pens, or any other valuables left in it.
Nothing so easy for honest Gareth Corkhill, of Whitehaven, Cumbria. In “GIVEN A CRIMINAL RECORD FOR THIS”, the Mail’s front page tells of how Mr Corkhill was given a criminal record for overfilling his rubbish bin.
Such shame on his young family. He is a dad to four.
The bin lid is four-inches ajar, says the paper. And that will not do. Mr Corkhill is visited by the enforcement officers, pair of. He is cautioned. He is ordered to pay a £110 on-the-spot fine. He refuses. To court the case does go.
In his absence the plaintiff is ordered to pay £210, made up of the original bill, £100 prosecution costs plus a £15 surcharge to help victims of violence.
“In “I’VE BIN HAD” the Sun hears Mr Corkhill threatened with jail if the fine is not paid. It’s the Mirror’s “Rubbish fine”.
In the Express, the bin-martyr tells how his car would be clamped and bailiffs dispatched.
In all this, there remains one matter of discrepancy. Just how open was the bin lid?
Mr Corkhill maintains an opening of 4 inches. Copeland borough council counters with seven inches. The Telegraph hears the same council says it was “more like six”.
How big the gap may shape a family. What young Cockhill will not blush at the mention of a mere four inches?
Can’t we make it ten inches or even eleven, and in so doing enable Mr Cockhill’s child to hold his head up high?
Posted: 22nd, April 2008 | In: Tabloids Comments (10) | TrackBack | Permalink
