Man, 86, is fined £250 for littering after he spat out a LEAF that blew into his mouth

A pensioner was hit with a £250 fine by overzealous litter wardens for spitting out a leaf that blew into his mouth. 

Roy Marsh, 86, was slapped with the ridiculous ticket after the incident while out walking in a seaside town.

The pensioner said he was accosted by two council enforcement officers after pausing for a rest near some reeds on a windy day in Skegness, Lincolnshire, earlier this year.

‘As I was sitting there, a gale blew a big reed into my mouth. I spat it out and just as I got up to walk away two guys (enforcement officers) came up to me,’ he said.

Mr Marsh was told by one of the officers at the South Parade Car Park in the town that he had been seen spitting on the floor. He claimed he told the officer he was being a ‘silly boy’.

‘It was all unnecessary and all out of proportion.’ Mr Marsh added.

A fine of £250 was issued after the incident in February, which was later reduced on appeal to £150, which Mr Marsh, who lives in the town, paid.

‘It was something that could have happened to anyone,’ he said. ‘It’s left me anxious about going out.’

Mr and Mrs Marsh told this evening how the enforcement officers shouted after him: ‘Hey you, we’ve got reason to believe you’ve been spitting.’

Mr Marsh, a father-of-one and grandfather of two, said: ‘I was shocked when they approached me. I don’t know where they appeared from.

‘I’ve been back down there filming today for the local TV news and it was windy again – a leaf smacked me right in the face while we were walking so it could have happened again today.’

Mr Marsh said the issue resurfaced after he was spoken to again several weeks later while walking around the boating lake. He explained that he had taken a tissue from his pocket and tucked it into his glove but had not dropped anything. 

Mr Marsh used to run a bus and taxi company with his 76-year-old wife prior to their retirement.

Mrs Marsh said: ‘Roy didn’t spit – how many 86-year-olds do you know who go around spitting? It’s a dirty habit.

‘This really upset him. We’ve watched these officers approach many older people since. It’s like they are bullies.’

The leaf incident came to light after Mr Marsh’s daughter posted about it on Facebook last month – and attracted dozens of comments reporting similarly over-zealous behaviour by enforcement officials.

Jane Fitzpatrick said she was ‘disgusted’ at learning about the incident from Mr Marsh and his wife Anne.

Ms Fitzpatrick wrote: ‘Recently dad who has walking difficulties but does his best to walk every day around the boating lake, inhaled a small leaf that made him choke. Dad has severe asthma and a heart condition, he managed to cough up the leaf and spit it out. (just the leaf).’

She said her parents now ‘regularly watch these officers’ and have seen them approach older people ‘many times’, even when something falls out of their pocket accidentally.

She accused enforcement officers of ‘unreasonably harassing and terrorising older people’.

Councillor Adrian Findley said he contacted the council after receiving a number of complaints about similar ‘heavy-handed’ incidents in the seaside resort.

Mr Findley, who represents Reform on Lincolnshire County Council, said he had been approached by other ‘angry residents’ who had recounted similar experiences.

He told the BBC: ‘They (enforcement officers) are taking it too far. If I came here on holiday and was given a £250 fine I wouldn’t want to risk coming back.

‘There needs to be discretion about how they (enforcement officers) issue fines. We can’t expect elderly people to chase crisp packets down the road if it’s windy.

‘If it looks like a genuine accident then give people opportunity to apologise and pick it up.’

East Lindsey District Council said enforcement teams, who work on behalf of the authority, would ‘only approach individuals who have been seen committing environmental crime offences’.

The council said it closely monitored enforcement actions and patrols were ‘not targeted at any specific demographic’ and are ‘no discriminatory’.

Councillor Martin Foster, the portfolio holder for operational services, said ‘The council closely monitors data on enforcement actions, including those relating to such things as littering, fly-tipping and dog-related offences.

‘Our ultimate aim is to invoke a change in behaviour and stop people committing environmental crime so residents and visitors can enjoy a clean and safe environment.’

In October, the Daily Mail told how a woman was slapped with a £150 fine for pouring the remnants of her coffee down a drain after she was ‘chased’ by three council officers.

Burcu Yesilyurt, from Kew, west London, said she tipped a small amount of the drink from her reusable cup down the road gully because she didn’t want to spill it on the bus.

But moments later, she was ‘shocked’ to see three male enforcement officers ‘chasing’ her down the street as she stood at the bus stop near Richmond station.

The officers fined her £150 under Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, reduced to £100 if she paid within 14 days.

Ms Yesilyurt said she found the encounter ‘quite intimidating’ and was left feeling ‘shaky’ on her way to work.

But Richmond-upon-Thames Council insisted its officers ‘acted professionally and objectively’ and were ‘justified’ in issuing the fine.