Man gets more than the pip after dropping cherry stones
Environmental worker who refused to pay fine faces criminal record
AN environmental worker is facing a criminal prosecution for littering after dropping cherry stones among some trees.
Jeff Hughes, 48, dropped three or four cherry stones thinking they would be eaten by birds or grow into a cherry tree, but to his surprise he was approached by officers from Kingdom Security and told that he had broken the law and would have to pay an £80 fine.
He refused and is now being taken to court by Wirral Council, which employs Kingdom to hand out fines on their behalf. It comes after a Daily Telegraph investigation found that members of the public are almost 20 times more likely to be fined for littering where councils employ private enforcement firms.
The fact that companies are paid by keeping a proportion of the fine means that they are “incentivised” to hand out more tickets, campaigners have said. They are calling for a “common sense” approach which would include allowing people to pick up their rubbish.
Mr Hughes, who has volunteered on litter picks and spent 15 years working with an environmental network teaching people about gardening and waste reduction, said: “It was a conscious decision. I thought it is tiny and there are big trees there so I will throw it underneath the trees among the grass and the leaves.
“I didn’t think it would offend anyone, it is a natural thing. I would understand if it was a pile of cherry stones on a pathway, but I felt like it was the right place.”
He was approached by two wardens outside Birkenhead Library who told him he had “committed a crime” and issued a fixed penalty notice for the “illegal deposit of litter – (food) Cherry Pips”.
Mr Hughes added: “I thought they were joking, I was absolutely gobsmacked.
“I said to her that I didn’t think I had done anything wrong. She told me that it was not what I had thrown but the act of throwing it that it might as well be a cigarette butt. I pointed out that they don’t grow on trees.”
As it was July there were plenty of trees in the area dropping seeds on their own, Mr Hughes said, adding that he had placed the small plastic bag that he had been eating cherries from back in his pocket.
He refused to pay the fine and has now been taken to magistrates’ court, where he has pleaded not guilty and the case has been adjourned for trial.
If found guilty Mr Hughes could face a fine of £2,500, a bill for the council’s costs and a criminal record.
Kingdom said that it was the decision of the council to take someone to court for non payment, adding: “They would not take that decision lightly”. Wirral Council did not respond to a request for comment.