Long memory of the law: litterer in court 11 years on

A WOMAN has been taken to court for dropping a paper bag in the street more than a decade ago.

Grace Firth, 32, was stunned when she received a letter in December informing her that she was being summoned over an “historical debt”.

Unaware of what she was alleged to have done, she turned up at court to be informed she had committed a littering offence in August 2009, and was required to pay £370 in fines and costs.

When the case was listed at Stockport magistrates’ court, officers had to query whether the information was correct because of the length of time between the offence and the hearing.

Miss Firth, from Stockport, Greater Manchester, had originally been prosecuted 11 years ago over a claim that she had thrown a Greggs bakery paper bag on the ground rather than in a bin.

Having failed to appear in court for the original hearing, she was convicted in her absence and fined £175. She was also ordered to pay £180 in costs and a further £15 victim surcharge.

Miss Firth insisted she had never been informed about the original case and was completely unaware of the conviction and sentence.

Prosecutors claim they sent letters demanding payment of the fine, but Miss Firth said they had gone to her mother’s address and had not been passed on to her.

She told the court: “Any mail for me was returned to sender or thrown away.”

Miss Firth explained to magistrates that the first time she heard of the case and the fine was when a letter arrived at her current home address on Dec 8 last year.

After listening to her explanation, the court accepted that she had been unaware of the conviction, and decided to cancel the original £180 costs order against her.

The court also reduced her fine to £40 but told her she would still have to pay the victim surcharge.