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A Bootle nan was fined for walking her dog near her house because enforcement officers "told her the lead was too long".

Maureen Sanders, 80, was walking her rescue dog Soren around Bootle Cemetery on Friday morning - but when she went to leave she was stopped by two officers from enforcement firm NSL.

The two women told Maureen her dog lead was "too long" and needed to be less than two metres if she wanted to use it in the area.

(Image: Andrew Teebay/Liverpool Echo)

Maureen said that instead of issuing the nan-of-four with a warning or explaining the rules to her, the officers slapped her with a £50 fine for breaking the by-law.

Speaking to the ECHO, Maureen said: "Soren is from Romania and I've had him about three years. He's a friendly dog but he can get quite frightened because he had a bad time in Romania.

"I had no idea it was a rule. My daughters rang the One Stop Shop when I had to pay the fine and the staff in there said they had never heard of it."

Maureen's daughters have offered to help her pay the £50 fine so the money doesn't come out of her hard-earned pension.

However, Maureen said she is refusing to pay the fine on principle.

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She said: "What upset me was if you don't have it paid up in a fortnight they said you would be fined £2,500 and I would have a criminal record.

"I cried all night because I was so, so upset."

(Image: Andrew Teebay/Liverpool Echo)

Maureen rescued her beloved Soren from a Romanian fighting pit three years ago, where he was being used for dog fights.

While the rescue dog is friendly and well-behaved, Maureen said he can get quite frightened of other dogs, which is why she has to keep him on a lead at all times.

She said: "I don't have a computer or anything - I wouldn't know the by-laws or anything. I've always been very respectful in the cemetery. I always have the dog on a lead and a lot of people don't do that!"

Maureen's daughter Maggie Eaton said she found her mum in "floods of tears" after being handed the fine on her morning dog walk.

She said her mum is waiting for a hip replacement and needs to use a longer lead to walk Soren because she has difficulty walking.

Maggie also said her mum is a responsible dog owner who "always carries poo bags and cleans up after her dog without fail."

She said: "Mum does not have that sort of money to pay for walking her dog under control on a lead as she has done every day for years.

"My sister and I offered to pay but mum is adamant that as she was not doing anything wrong by walking her dog on a lead in the rear part of the cemetery away from the graves, early in the morning in the only green space close to her flat.

"She is not going to pay."

NSL, formerly known as NCP, is understood to be responsible for enforcing fixed penalty notices (FPNs) on by-laws for Sefton Council.

Sefton Council and NSL were both contacted for comment but neither had responded by the time of publication.

Maggie said her mum was told that there are signs outside the cemetery warning of the by-laws but that she couldn't see them due to her poor eyesight.

However, the signs merely state to keep dogs on a "short lead" and don't specify any maximum length. They do state the area should not be used for dog walking, but the cemetery is used regularly by many animal owners.