Residents in a posh Cotswolds town are up in arms over plans to fine them for leaving their bins out amid concerns about a “blight” on its historic conservation area. New rules proposed for Tewkesbury, a pretty market town in Gloucestershire, could see households punished for failing to remove their wheelie bins from the street. It comes after a petition by Tewkesbury Civic Society raised concerns about a “bin blight” in the area, which it argued stops tourists from snapping picturesque Instagram photos and reduces property values.

Tewkesbury Borough Council has proposed the measures for a six-month pilot scheme, with written warnings initially issued to repeat offenders and the potential for financial penalties further down the line. Resident Kamila Pavolva, 45, slammed the proposals as “nonsense”, insisting no one can take the bins out of the street for her while she’s at work as a doctor.

But civic society chair Alan Purkiss said he was “confident” the town’s tourism, property values and inward investment were being “severely degraded” by the bins issue.

“It’s a lovely old town,” he said. “But if you’re disabled, in a wheelchair or a buggy, you can’t get past sometimes due to the bins.

“I know people who threatened to leave the area because they were sick and tired of coming out of the front door and the first thing they saw was bins outside.

“People come to tell me that they’ve been approached by visitors saying, ‘It’s a pity about the bins’. You wouldn’t really want to have a row of bins if you were photographing here.”

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Local Marty Trembath, 71, a retired architect, added: “I hate all the bins. It’s just laziness. It affects the look of the town centre. If you come as a tourist, why do you want to see bins everywhere? It’s just ugly. Full stop.”

Councillor Murray Stewart, lead member for environmental services at Tewkesbury Borough Council, said the local authority would work with residents to understand the “specific challenges” they are worried about before launching the scheme.

“It’s proposed for a six-month trial and would need a dedicated resource to work directly with households where bins are not taken in, with support and education,” he added.

“Any enforcement measures could come later and only if agreed. They’re not part of the initial six-month phase. It would be a last resort, but we’re making it clear to members of the public that it could be an avenue we explore.”