Disabled woman 'chased' by warden and fined £100 for 'dropping cigarette butt'
A disabled woman says she was hounded and fined by a council litter warden for 'dropping a cigarette butt' despite putting it in her pocket.
Leona Moon had been minding her business on a bench in Bexhill, East Sussex, when the anti-litter enforced chased her down a seafront accusing her of "committing a criminal offence".
The 54-year-old, who is unable to move her fingers, was told she had to pay a £100 fine - despite her proof the butt had ended up in her pocket due to a burn mark on her clothes.
Ms Moon claimed she put the cigarette end out under her shoe then put it in her pocket at around 2.30pm on May 16.
But the Rother District Council employee insisted he saw her leave it on the ground and slapped her with a £100 ticket, which the authority refused to refund.
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She said: "I did have a cigarette but because I am disabled and can’t feel three of my fingers in one of my hands I put the cigarette end out under my shoe then placed it into my right hand before putting it in my pocket.
Leona was fined £100 (Justin Lycett/Sussex World/SWNS)"I was carrying on talking to my friend when someone from the council came saying I’d put my cigarette on the ground. I said I hadn’t, as I’d put it out and placed the end in my pocket.
"They said they’d seen me put the cigarette butt on the ground and said it was a criminal offence.
"I said I’d put it out and it was burning my shoe so I scraped it then put the end in my pocket."
Ms Moon added the enforcement officer followed her along the seafront of the seaside town.
She added: "I said I can’t feel some of my fingers because of severed tendons and he said I’d have to pay the fine. He kept on asking my name and added he would call the police.
"My heart rate was going 10 to the dozen. I had a heart attack when I was 42. I felt I was going to have a panic attack.
"I have been stressed out since this happened."
The council has refused to rescind Leona's fine (Justin Lycett/Sussex World/SWNS)She added: "The council will not give me back my money, even though I have got proof because the cigarette end burned my pocket when I put it in."
Dropping litter is a criminal offence under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and there are is no defence in law if there are not any nearby litter bins.
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Ms Moon said Rother District Council should provide bins with ashtrays on the top, like other towns.
Rother District Council insisted the worker was right to hand out the fine.
A spokesman said: "Rother District Council began environmental enforcement in the summer of 2022 to tackle the growing issue of fly-tipping, littering and dog-fouling, which is a real blight on our district and costs our taxpayers more than £70,000 a year to clean up.
"Our enforcement officers can only deal with the situations they come across. If someone feels they have been issued a fixed penalty notice incorrectly they should, in the first instance, contact our enforcement contractor NES Ltd.
"Following this incident, we have reviewed the bodycam footage of the conversation between Ms Moon and our enforcement officer and have concluded that the enforcement officer acted properly.
"While we are always happy to discuss the circumstances with anyone who has received a fixed penalty notice, we would urge people to ensure they are disposing of their waste properly and responsibly.
"Doing this will help them avoid any potential fines and help us in our fight to keep our district clean and tidy."
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