Overflowing wheelie bins can be a common worry for most households, especially if you live in a part of the country where refuse collection is not frequent.
But this problem can become even more worrisome if your neighbours decide to use your bin for their waste when they have run out of space - meaning you cannot get rid of your own rubbish.
This is the predicament that a mum on Mumsnet has found herself in as an unruly neighbour helped themselves to her waste disposal space.
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In a post on the popular online website, she said: "So I've recently moved house, and my neighbours overall seem okay.
"I'm a single parent with one child and our council collects the recycling bin one week and the general waste the following week. Sometimes I only put my recycling out monthly because I don't always fill the bin 100% for both collections.
"Anyway, the week before last I didn't put out my recycling because I was working 4 shifts back to back and I knew it wasn't full. Two days later I went outside to put my recycling in the bin and it was almost full with minimal room for my stuff."
This has led to her considering drastic action and even contemplating fitting her wheelie bin with a padlock to thwart any inconsiderate neighbours, the Mirror reports.
She states that the issue would not usually concern her but she has recently discovered that some residents have been fined for placing non-recyclable items in their recycling bins and she does not want to face any monetary punishment for someone else's actions.
She added: "What the actual? I'm really annoyed. My last house was a semi and my bins were kept at the back of the drive near the back door. I'm not used to this.
"I'm tempted to put a padlock on my bins and remove the padlock when I put the bins out on bin day. It's just I'm really careful as I've heard of people being fined when they've put the wrong stuff in."
The Mumsnet community rallied around the mum and were full of support for the situation she found herself in.
Many backed the call for her to secure a padlock to the bin or to buy a gravity lock which keeps a bin locked until it is turned upside down by waste removal workers.
One person said: "Padlock them, they will never get the message otherwise and continue to do what they want."
While another added: "I would padlock it, yeah. Wouldn’t even waste my breath trying to speak to the cheeky f***ers."
And a third said: "Another one for a padlock. Mine are padlocked after I found full dog poo bags and a pizza box complete with pizza in my bin."
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