A single mother has been left fuming after being hit with a £500 fly-tipping fine for leaving an IKEA cabinet outside her home for people to take for free.
Isabelle Pepin, from Southbourne, Dorset, thought she was being community minded and environmentally friendly by offering the unwanted furniture to someone in her neighbourhood to have.
The 42-year-old stuck a sheet of A4 paper on it stating it was free along with a chest-of-drawers from the same furniture store, which was picked up after a short while.
This meant the cabinet was left on its own for a few hours before being moved back on to her driveway.
Miss Pepin was stunned when a council official knocked on her door three weeks later and told her she was being fined for fly-tipping and even threatened her with prison.