Mother fined £75 by litter police after four-year-old daughter drops piece of sausage roll on the pavement
A young single mum has been fined £75 for “littering” after her four-year-old daughter dropped a piece of sausage roll on the pavement.
Fuming Sarah Davies, 20, was feeding hungry Chloe with the snack when it accidentally slipped from her grasp inches from her daughter’s mouth and fell to the floor.
Moments later pigeons swooped to seize the offending piece of pastry - but busybody council officials had already spotted the food on the ground and issued stunned Sarah with a fixed penalty ticket.
Sarah Davies was furious for being fined £75 for ‘littering’ after a small piece of a sausage roll being eaten by daughter Chloe fell on the pavement
She initially refused to give them her details - but shockingly was threatened with arrest if she did not comply.
The full-time mum says that she cannot afford the fine and is prepared to go to court to fight it if necessary.
Sarah said: “I had just picked up Chloe from nursery. We were both hungry so I got us a sausage roll to share.
“I had a bite and then bent down to give a bit to Chloe who was on her bike.
“A tiny bit missed her mouth and fell on the floor and seconds later some pigeons flew down and grabbed it. I crossed the road and was approached by two men - at first I thought they were canvassers as they were dressed in tracksuit bottoms.
“But one came up to me, said he was from the council and said I was going to be fined for dropping litter.
“He wasn’t polite at all, he was rude, and I began to walk away. He then said I would be arrested if I didn’t give him my name and details and started reading me my rights on the street.
“I felt really small and humiliated. I was treated like I was a criminal. Where is the common sense? It was a small, bite-sized piece - just big enough for her mouth.
“I went back to take a picture of the ‘litter’, but it had been gobbled by pigeons. There was no litter there at all.”
The incident happened in the city centre of Hull, East Yorkshire, on Monday and the fine arrived in the post just three days later. Sarah lives with her mum Wendy, 44, and says she cannot afford the fine.
She added: “I just can’t pay out £75 for this, I have to live on £94 a week. The letter says that I must pay within 14 days but I haven’t got the money. I would be prepared to go to court.
“I agree that people should not drop litter, but I was not dropping litter. I was just feeding my daughter who likes sausage rolls.
“It affected her as well. She came to me after it had happened and said, ‘Mummy, I was scared when those men came up to me.’ It’s just not right.”
Shopkeeper Wendy, who was with the pair at the time, said: “It’s disgusting. The piece of sausage roll was on the floor for less than a minute.
“We tried to reason with the officers but they didn’t want to know, they weren’t interested in what we had to say. Sarah is really worried now about how she’s going to pay this money.”
Hull City Council confirmed a fixed penalty ticket had been issued by a member of its Environment Crime Unit.
A spokeswoman for Hull City Council said: “The issuing of the fixed penalty notice is the result of the mother’s actions and not as a result of child’s.”
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