Woman is fined £150 for pouring coffee down a drain – after being ‘chased’ by THREE jobsworth council officers
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A woman was fined £150 by council officers after she poured the leftovers of her coffee down the drain.
Burcu Yeşilyurt, from Kew in west London, said she spilled a small portion of the drink from her reusable glass into the road canal because she did not want to spill it inside the bus.
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, which could be reduced to £100 if he paid within 14 days.
Ms Yesilyurt said she found the encounter ‘quite frightening’ and felt ‘shaken up’ on her way to work.
However, Richmond-upon-Thames Council said its officers ‘acted professionally and objectively’ and that the penalty was given in accordance with its policies.
Ms Yesilyurt told the BBC: ‘I noticed my bus was approaching and spilled the rest. It wasn’t much, just a little bit.
‘When I turned around I noticed three men, law enforcement, chasing me and they stopped me immediately.’
Burcu Yesilyurt (pictured) was fined £150 by council officers for dumping the leftover coffee down the drain
The resident claimed he was unaware that pouring liquid down the drain was against the law.
Storing or disposing of waste in a way that pollutes water or soil is an offense under Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
Spilling liquids into street drains falls within the scope of this rule.
Ms. Yeşilyurt said that she asked the police officers who approached her if there were signs informing people about the law, but the police did not answer.
A spokesperson for the City of Richmond said body-worn camera footage had been reviewed and “they do not agree that officers acted aggressively.”
The Daily Mail has contacted Richmond Council for further comment.
Last year Stoke Borough Council, Jobworths, fined a couple £400 for littering after one of them placed an envelope in a public bin and was followed up with the address at the front.
Deborah and Ian Day were each fined £200 individually after finding the self-addressed envelope.
Three male bailiffs ‘chased’ her down the street as she stood at the bus stop near Richmond station
Deborah, from Bentilee, Stoke-on-Trent, put the envelope in the bin on her street as she headed to work.
But council inspectors said it breached sections 87 and 88 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and amounted to a littering offense as household waste could not be disposed of in public bins.
A spokesperson for Stoke-on-Trent City Council said at the time: ‘Stoke-on-Trent City Council maintains a zero tolerance approach to illegal dumping in our towns and with this comes enforcement. We continue proactive patrols and investigations.
‘Once an area is investigated and evidence is processed, we arrange for waste to be removed with our clean-up teams. This case is currently being investigated by our Environmental Crime Team.
‘Fixed Penalty Notices are issued as an alternative to court proceedings. ‘We are committed to working together to clean up our city and will take action against waste crimes where the evidence supports it.’
