The money-spinning fines netting councils a small fortune: Find out if YOU are at risk of being fined by your local authority with this quiz
Mayors have been accused of imposing small fines on local residents for seemingly the most trivial of alleged crimes.
A woman caught up in the current crackdown was fined for not carrying a waste bag while walking her dog.
Daily Mail research has shown how many fines have been imposed on drivers in what has been dubbed the ‘war on drivers’.
In just one year, a record 7.6 million fines were issued to London drivers (the total amount is estimated at £400 million) and these penalty notices were issued by Transport for London.
A fresh investigation has been launched into local authorities after council officers in south-west London were accused of ‘chasing’ a woman who dumped the remains of her coffee down the drain.
Kew’s Burcu Yesilyurt was initially fined £150 but this has now been overturned after Richmond-upon-Thames Council insisted they ‘won’t do this again’.
Public service protection orders were introduced in 2014, allowing local authorities to set their own rules in efforts to tackle antisocial behaviour.
And the risks remain, as precedents set by local authorities across the country and this new Daily Mail test show. How can you manage?
Ms. Yeşilyurt said that she poured a small portion of the drink from her reusable glass into the road canal because she did not want to spill it on the bus.
Burcu Yesilyurt (pictured) was fined £150 by council officers for dumping the leftover coffee down the drain
Paula (pictured) said she was stopped by a council officer in Northampton city center and fined for not carrying a waste bag
But moments later, while standing at the bus stop near the Richmond station, she was ‘shocked’ to see three male law enforcement officers ‘chasing’ her down the street.
Officers fined him £150 under Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990; It is reduced to £100 if paid within 14 days.
Ms Yesilyurt said she found the encounter ‘quite frightening’ and felt ‘shaken up’ on her way to work.
But Richmond-upon-Thames Council insisted its officers ‘acted professionally and objectively’ and were ‘right’ to impose the fine.
The authority later said it had rescinded the fine and was ‘reviewing our advice on the disposal of liquids in public places’.
Elsewhere, a dog owner named Paula was fined £100 for walking her Welsh Springer Spaniel without a litter bag.
Paula said she was stopped by a council officer in Northampton city center and fined for forgetting to bring a plastic bag, even though her dog didn’t mess up on the pavement.
A West Northamptonshire Council spokesman said: ‘It’s really important that if people walk their dogs in a Public Places Protection Order (PSPO) area they have the means to pick them up after them if they get foul in public.’
