A man says he feels like he has been 'extorted' by the council after receiving a £50 fine for feeding birds 'two tiny bits' of his McDonald's McMuffin.

Ian Chapman, from Hucknall, Nottinghamshire, UK, said he threw the bready bits from the window of his Volvo to around 20 seagulls in Morrisons car park and they were 'gone in seconds'.



It came as a surprise then when the 66-year-old received a £50 fixed penalty from Nottingham City Council two days later for 'leaving litter and moving away'.

Advert

The father-of-three was outraged by the fine, but said he paid it due to fears it may otherwise escalate.

He said: "I can't understand. They're criminalising hard-working people, for what reason I don't know. It just seems like extortion to some degree. It's absolute pettiness and that's how they create an income.

"I tried to explain to the powers that be that if I was intending on littering, I would have thrown more than two bits of bread out of the window. I would've thrown the rest of it, and the packaging."

Yeah that defence probably didn't come across as well as you thought it might, Ian.

Advert

When he subsequently got in touch to dispute the fine, a member of the Fixed Penalty Notice Team said the authority 'classifies feeding birds as littering due to the various problems it can cause'.

Ian Chapman was outraged by the £50 fine he received for feeding the birds. Credit: SWNS

They added: "These problems can include the bread attracting pests and vermin, low flying birds causing an accident by distracting drivers and pedestrians, as well as the mess left by both the bread and birds.

"There is no guarantee that the birds will eat everything you dispose of therefore Community Protection Officers (CPOs) will issue Fixed Penalty Notices as it is an offence."

Advert

Cllr Toby Neal, portfolio holder for community protection at Nottingham City Council, supported the decision of the CPO and said it 'was clearly an act of littering'.



He said: "It was clearly an act of littering, which wasn't disputed at the time since the fine was paid.

"We take pride in the cleanliness of Nottingham and expect others to do the same.

"We're not in the business of stopping people feeding birds, but if that becomes dumping a lot of food waste on the ground as in this case, then we will act to keep our city the cleanest in the UK and dissuade others from thinking that littering is OK."

Advert

Here's Ian stood near a duck, with some bread... whether or not he fed it, we'll never know. Credit: SWNS

But Josie Appleton, director of the Manifesto Club, who challenge the hyper-regulation of public spaces, said the fine beggared belief.

She said: "Defra guidance clearly states that people shouldn't be fined for small or trivial offences, such as feeding the birds.

"Yet councils up and down the country are still hitting people with fines, either to make money or to meet the targets of officious departments.

Advert

"The two small pieces of bread didn't even touch the ground - it beggars belief that Nottingham council and police officials could defend this absurd penalty.