Pensioner furious after receiving £250 fine for spitting out leaf | UK | News

A pensioner was fined £250 for spitting a flying leaf into his mouth. Roy Marsh, 86, was reprimanded by two council officers after he stopped to rest near the reeds at the seaside resort of Skegness in Lincolnshire in February. It was a windy day and a straw flew into his mouth and he spat it out. Mr Marsh claims one of the officers shouted: “Hey you, we have reason to believe you were spitting.”

The grandfather of two added: “I was shocked when they approached me. I don’t know where they came from. I went back there today to shoot for local TV news and it was windy again and a leaf hit me in the face as we were walking, so the same thing could happen today.” His wife Anne, 76, said the incident really upset her husband. Mail reports. “Since then we have seen these officers approach many older people.

“As if they were bullies.”

Mr Marsh’s daughter, Jane Fitzpatrick, wrote on social media that she was “disgusted”.

He said: “Recently my father, who had walking difficulties but was trying his best to walk around the boating lake every day, inhaled a small leaf and it choked him.

“My father has severe asthma and a heart condition. He managed to cough up and spit out the leaf (just the leaf).”

He also alleged that city officials were “unreasonably harassing and terrorizing the elderly.”

Councilor Martin Foster, portfolio holder for operational services, told the BBC: “The council closely monitors data on enforcement actions, including littering, fly swatting and dog-related offences.

“Our ultimate aim is to create a change in behavior and stop people committing environmental crimes so that residents and visitors can enjoy a clean and safe environment.”