Families could face fines of more than £500 for breaking wheelie bin rules.

Draconian new town hall tactics mean every adult in a household is hit with a £110 fine, rather than just one.

A family including an adult couple, two children over 18 and a grandparent could, in theory, be hit with five fines totalling £550.

The penalties are imposed for ‘offences’ such as putting a bin out too early or taking it in too late, leaving out extra sacks of rubbish and over-filling the bin.

Prime targets for mass fines are multi-occupancy properties, particularly student homes, where there is no clear head of the household.

In one house, four adults had to pay £440 for failing to take their bin off the pavement on time.

That is more than five times the £80 spot fine that would usually be given by police to someone caught shoplifting.

Chris Kozlik, whose student daughter Zoe, 21, and her three housemates had to pay £110 each to Leicester council, said: 'All sense has gone out of the window.

'All my daughter did was leave her bin out past when it should have been. You'd get less for beating somebody up. Power has gone to their heads.'

The scale of penalties for 'environmental crime' compares with average court fines of £285 for sex offenders, £237 for violent thugs and £286 for fraudsters, although these are often imposed alongside other punishments.

The fines-for-all method follows the outcry over the imposition of fortnightly rubbish collections and complex recycling rules, enforced by 'bin police'.

The Daily Mail's Not in My Front Yard campaign has highlighted the unpopularity of wheelie bins. The multiple fine system is spreading among councils who find it easier to target everyone in a house rather than identify a responsible individual.

It is also potentially highly lucrative at a time when the recession is hitting receipts from car park charges and planning fees.

But councils who have adopted the tactic insist it is necessary. Leicester city council said wheelie bins were blocking streets and encouraging arsonists.

The Labour-run council, which says it issues multiple fines at least once a month, said: 'Our city wardens give letters and information to householders where bins are left outside.

'They follow up with letters or visits, to give advice and explain the need to take in bins. If the situation persists, we try to establish whether there are particular problems stopping people bringing in their bins, so we can advise or help.

'If they still fail to remove their bins, legal notices are sent to every resident over 18 at a property, warning them they have 21 days to bring in their bins or face fines.

'We issue fines only if all these steps fail to resolve the problem.'

In Cambridge, the Liberal Democrat-run city council said fines for every adult were introduced primarily to put pressure on students.

Enforcement Manager Yvonne Mackender said: 'We do it to pin down who is responsible for the bins.'

She said officials negotiate with everyone who has been sent a fine notice, and no household is made to pay more than £110.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said last night: 'Issuing fixed penalty notices is a matter entirely for local authorities, and how they use these powers is up to them.'

But Tory local government spokesman Caroline Spelman said: 'This is an unacceptable and draconian abuse of state powers by town hall bullies. Spurred on by Government guidance, clipboard-wielding bin inspectors are hitting hardworking families with arbitrary and unfair fines.

'Meanwhile, real criminals like shoplifters get away with derisory fines. The law needs to be changed.'