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A woman has been fined £100 for not having her dog under control while visiting her mum's grave on what would have been her birthday.

Barbara Sharp - who has recently been diagnosed with cancer - was visiting the Scartho Road cemetery with her dog Toby on Wednesday when she was approached by two Kingdom wardens working for North East Lincolnshire Council who told her that while dogs are allowed in the cemetery they must be on a lead and under control.

They have been asked to patrol the grounds after complaints from visitors about dogs defecating on graves and digging up flowers.

Barbara, 67, insists Toby was on a lead, but North East Lincolnshire Council says footage from the officer's body camera clearly shows the dog not on a lead and running around graves while his owner has her back to him.

A video of the exchange between the two wardens and Barbara has been circulating on social media.

It shows Barbara in a distressed state following the incident. According to witnesses in the video, the dog had been ‘under control all the time’. They added: "In the last hour I’ve not seen that dog run off once."

Barbara told Grimsby Live: "I’d put some flowers on my mother and brother’s graves. I placed the lead on the floor and kept my foot on it just so he didn’t run away, but as soon as I did that they jumped on me.

"They kept telling me that I shouldn’t be taking my dog off a lead, but I hadn’t done that at any point. The man told me that I had to pay a £100 fine for the offence, they never even gave me a chance to speak.

(Image: Jon Corken/Grimsby Live)

"I was worried it might not even be real, he didn’t tell me who he was or show any credentials. The whole thing felt like I was being arrested if I’m honest.

"I’m an OAP at the end of the day, I can’t afford to pay out for things like this - I just haven’t got the money. At times it felt a bit like I was being harassed, he could have been a lot nicer in the way he spoke to me about it all.

"I don’t even take the dog with me normally. The only reason I brought him with me was so I would feel more comfortable about visiting the graves whilst I put the flowers on.

"The whole thing has completely distressed me - I’ve barely stopped crying since it all happened. I’ve been diagnosed with cancer recently so this has just created more stress in my life that I really don’t need.

"I’ll never take the dog with me again now. The ordeal has disrupted my life and left me really frightened of people. It came as a complete shock to me, I always make sure he’s under control and would never let him run off.

"I’m hoping to appeal the fine because I feel like I’ve done nothing wrong. Compared to the other problems in the cemetery, like graves being vandalised, I feel like my fine is undeserved.

"I just want to forget about the whole thing, all I want is for it to be over and done with completely. I’ve heard that people are trying to crowdfund me the money, but I don’t want to take other people’s money off them."

A Go Fund Me page set up on Thursday had reached nearly £500 by yesterday afternoon.

Councillor Ron Shepherd, portfolio holder for Safer and Stronger Communities at North East Lincolnshire Council, said: “While we sympathise with the circumstances of the

lady in question, we have clear body camera evidence showing the dog off a lead and being allowed to roam unsupervised over and around other graves.

“We’ve acted to have patrols in the area after receiving complaints from families over damage to flowers and dog faeces on graves in the crematorium; we simply can’t allow dogs to wander in the area without being under control.

“Before the officer approaches, the lady does not hold any lead or harness, she stands with her back to the dog and has no supervision of it. The lady later puts the dog back on a lead on the public video, which only shows part of the incident.

“As for the threats and abuse directed at the officer by the man filming the aftermath of the incident, this is simply not acceptable and has been reported to the police for threatening behaviour, as have subsequent threats made on social media.

“The staff involved are tackling an issue the community has brought to our attention and wants us to deal with and I’m sure the other people, including those in the video, wouldn’t want to visit their loved ones’ graves to find them damaged or spoiled by the activities of dogs left unsupervised.”

He added: “Enforcement officers gather evidence for the local authority, they do not issue on the spot fines. All incidents are reviewed before a fine is issued. If the person has concerns about the fine or conduct of the staff we will further review the matter.

"This will include any mitigations made. This is part of our legal process and is confidential between the authority and person concerned.”

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