Council cancel £150 fine to pensioner who is nearly 90 years old for reported littering after public backlash.

A pensioner who is nearly 90 years old who was fined for reportedly dropping a piece of paper on the floor has had the fine cancelled by the council. The video on Facebook sparked anger amongst local residents, councillors, and the Romford MP Andrew Rosindell yesterday.

The pensioner was out in Romford and clearly struggling to walk, was with a friend as she was fined after enforcement officers reported that she had dropped a piece of paper on the ground. Members of the public intervened to inform the group of enforcement officers who then gathered, to let them know that she was nearly 90 years old, and could they not issue her with a warning instead.The enforcement officers responded saying that the council had given them a zero tolerance approach to people dropping litter.

Romford resident Andy who saw the incident told the Havering Daily: “There are many places across Romford these enforcement officers could be working on, are they out and about on Friday afternoon and evenings or across the weekend when loads of litter is carelessly dropped?

“If the council doesn’t cancel this fine, I will pay it for the lady. This is disgusting.”

Romford MP Andrew Rosindell joined the public outcry saying: “This is a shameful and unacceptable way to treat residents of Romford by Havering Council.

“There is no judgment or common sense here. I am appalled to see the footage and I believe that it brings the council into disrepute.

“I hope the Leader of the Council will order a review of how these enforcement officers conduct themselves in the future. Local people deserve better than this and as Romford MP, I am not going to stand and watch my constituents be treated in such an appalling way.”

Romford Councillor David Taylor told the Havering Daily:

“ I am very concerned by the video and have raised my concerns with the council directly. It is my belief that the enforcement team may be too heavy-handed. 

None of the team appear to be wearing any bodycams, meaning they are unable to prove the violation. There are far too many in one area, which will be intimidating, and I am upset that the council’s policy is to not give a warning. 

The litter enforcement team is a welcome addition to Romford. However, they must be equipped to show discretion and prove their allegation. Similarly, a grace period should have been in place for the first few months”.

Cabinet Member for Enforcement Council Barry Mugglestone told the Havering Daily:

“I am very disappointed with this incident, I have asked for this to be looked into, so far from what I have seen it is unacceptable. We are cancelling the fine and looking into what other training is required.

“I offer my apologies to the lady.”

A spokesperson for Havering Council told the Havering Daily:

“We thank residents for bringing this to our attention and we were also disappointed to see this footage.  We are carrying out a speedy and full investigation to understand exactly what happened.  However, based on what we know so far, this looks like an unacceptable situation that should not have happened.  We offer our sincere apologies to this lady. We are cancelling the fine as well as putting new training in place.”

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