UK households risk a PRISON SENTENCE for binning a key General Election letter. Homes up and down the country have been warned over binning a key piece of General Election documentation, as we head closer and closer to July 4.

Most offences under the Representation of the People Act 1983 (RPA 1983) are classified as corrupt or illegal. Corrupt practices are indictable with a maximum penalty of imprisonment for one year and/or a fine, experts have warned.

It is an offence to falsely apply tovote by post or proxy with the intention of depriving anotherperson of a vote or gaining a vote or money or property to which aperson is not entitled. It is illegal to apply for a postal or proxy vote as some other person (whether living, dead or fictitious), otherwise make a false statement in connection with an application for a postal or proxy vote or induce an Electoral Registration Officer or Returning Officer or local Counting Officer to send a communication relating to a postal or proxy vote to an address that has not been agreed by the voter.

It is also an offence to cause such a communication not to be delivered to the intended recipient. Worryingly, that means if a household receives a letter with a postal vote that shouldn't have been delivered to them, they could face jail for binning it.

Dean Botham, spokesperson at LitterBins.co.uk, said: “We urge everyone to be careful when disposing their election campaign materials, as improper disposal could lead to fines of up to £200, or even a prison sentence. As people may or may not know, documents including promotional voting material, postal vote letters and voting slips, which have been posted through your door, all count as household waste, so they should not be thrown away in public bins.

“It is essential that these documents are thrown away correctly, as household waste, to protect voter privacy, comply with legal guidelines and to protect public health and the environment. It serves as a reminder that all documents containing personal details should be shredded at home in order to ensure they are disposed of in the correct manner whilst retaining both privacy and confidentiality.”

The Electoral Commission explains its guidance for all instances, urging Brits to "preserve evidence" and "respect the secrecy of sealed documents and seek advice before opening." It adds: "When election or referendum documents become evidence in a potential crime, the method of preservation by the police should include consultation with the Chief Electoral Officer to agree a mutually beneficial way forward."