RUBBISH-infested back alleys are the last thing York needs.

Bin bags that are put out early get targeted by dogs and cats. They can split and the contents spill out, causing a stink and attracting rats.

This has always been a problem in areas of York that still have weekly black bag collections instead of wheelie bins.

Often, the alleys are also used as dumping grounds by fly-tippers. Anything that can help to clean up these areas and make them more pleasant places in which to live has to be good.

There is a suspicion, however, that in its zeal to do so, the council has gone too far.

It issued a warning last November to householders in parts of Clifton, Micklegate and South Bank, that if they persisted in putting black bags out early they risked incurring an on-the-spot £100 fine - or even prosecution. Now we have the first evidence that that was not just talk.

Teams of professional council snoopers have been rummaging through bin bags for evidence to prove who they belong to.

And since the clean-up was launched, 22 Statutory Notices have been issued for persistently putting rubbish out early. Each of those could in theory lead to a £100 fixed penalty notice - or even a court appearance.

The council has also been cracking down on fly-tippers.

Five warning letters have been issued, and four prosecutions are being investigated.

We have no problem with that. Fly-tippers are antisocial nuisances who spoil other people's lives. But in threatening to fine people whose only crime was to put their bin bag out early, we feel the council is taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Surely, educating them to reduce their rubbish and recycle more would be a better way forward?