Pensioner, 73, is fined £75 for littering and ‘treated like a criminal’ after feeding sausage roll crumbs to pigeons
- Zena Altham, 73, of Clitheroe, Lancashire, was issued the fine last November
- She sprinkled flakes of sausage roll pastry on the pavement for pigeons
- Bodycam-wearing officer swooped in and slapped her with the fine
- Mrs Altham has contested fine but was told there were no grounds of appeal
A pensioner who volunteers at a homeless shelter has been slapped with a £75-fine and ‘treated like a criminal’ for feeding flakes of pastry from a sausage roll to pigeons.
Zena Altham, 73, of Clitheroe, Lancashire, was issued a littering fine by a council enforcement officer after sprinkling the pastry flakes from her car window.
She was shopping with her husband, son and daughter-in-law and decided to visit Poundbakery for a savoury snack.
But after she was caught on CCTV emptying her crumbs from a bag for pigeons to eat, an officer swooped in and handed her a fixed penalty notice.
Zena Altham, 73, of Clitheroe, Lancashire, was issued a littering fine by a council enforcement officer after sprinkling the pastry flakes from her car window
Mrs Altham said the officer, who knocked on the car window and recorded their interaction on a bodycam, made her feel like a criminal.
She contested the fine, but was told there were no formal grounds of appeal and the only way to dispute the notice was to go to magistrates court.
She said: ‘I was absolutely gobsmacked, I couldn’t believe it. I thought it was a joke at first.
‘I’m 73 and I have never been in trouble before, I felt like I was being treated like a criminal.
‘It was a complete shock, I was so annoyed and upset. I apologised and said I didn’t know it was illegal, but he didn’t care.
‘I was just feeding the pigeons, good lord. For the sake of a few crumbs from a sausage roll I might end up in court. It has just got crazier and crazier.’
She was caught on CCTV emptying her crumbs from a bag for pigeons to eat, an officer swooped in and handed her a fixed penalty notice
Mrs Altham said the enforcement officer told the family there were several signs on litter bins and that it was illegal to feed pigeons.
But the grandmother-of-three insisted she did not see any signs and the crumbs were eaten by pigeons by the time the officer had issued his ticket.
She added: ‘My daughter-in-law wrote an appeal letter and they totally ignored it.
‘We got a letter back and they didn’t even answer her questions, it was just a bog standard response saying I have contravened such an act and I have to pay.’
Alana, Mrs Altham’s daughter-in-law, branded the fine – issued by Hydburn Borough Council in Lancashire on November 13 – as ‘ridiculous’ and ‘pathetic’.
She said: ‘Zena is the sort of person who would do anything for anyone or any animal.
‘She volunteers at a homeless shelter and will always help someone less fortunate if she can.
‘All she was doing was leaving some flakes of her sausage roll on the floor for a pigeon.
‘By the time he had issued the ticket the crumbs had been eaten by a couple of pigeons.
‘We could not believe what a ridiculous situation we were witnessing.
‘Do drunks who are vomiting in the street get fined?
‘What about if you have been eating and dropped crumbs off your coat, do you get fined?
‘We could understand the fine if my mother had thrown a paper bag, crisp packet, can, bottle etc, but no the council penalise a pensioner for feeding a couple of pigeons some crumbs.’
Hyndburn Council signed a contract with company Kingdom last year which provides officers to patrol, catching litter louts and people who don’t clean up after their dogs.
The company also operates in Blackburn with Darwen and Burnley.
On the website, a council spokesman said: ‘Authorities now have the power to issue residents with a £75 fixed penalty notice for dropping litter on the street. Anyone caught dumping waste in a litter bin can also face a fine up to £1,000.’
Hyndburn Council was unable to provide a comment.