Need to spend a penny in the countryside? It could cost you

URINATING in the countryside is littering, a council insisted as it fined two men for the offence.

Michael Mason, who has a weakened prostate, was fined by Dacorum borough council in Hertfordshire after he pulled his car over into a lay-by to urinate, BBC News reported in December.

Another man was also fined under similar circumstances.

Mr Mason, who was 45 minutes into a two-hour journey, told the BBC: “I made sure nobody could see me and was very, very discreet.”

Both men were stopped by an employee of District Enforcement, a private company contracted by the council to issue penalty fines.

However, David Armstrong, the lawyer whose advice the council has based its fines on has said it was misapplied.

Dacorum council said some fines had been rescinded.

Mr Armstrong, who specialises in public sector clients, wrote: “To be litter, it must be capable of causing or leading to defacement and also must be left behind. Both of these can be very difficult to prove evidentially. If challenged, both must be proven. For example, I have no problems at all with persons urinating in streets being prosecuted under section 87 of the Environmental Protection Act.”

However, when Mr Armstrong was contacted by The Guardian, he said the council had misapplied his advice, but also defended his classification of public urination as littering (in an urban context).

Nick Freeman, a lawyer who calls himself “Mr Loophole” on social media, questioned Dacorum council’s fines.

He told the BBC: “I would argue as a lawyer that the very fact it [the Environmental Protection Act 1990] does not mention urine clearly indicates that urine is not a piece of litter, it is not in any way any form of litter.”

He added that Dacorum council’s view of litter “is contrary to the legislation and it is contrary to its everyday meaning and therefore, in my view, legally, they are wrong”.

In a statement to the newspaper, Dacorum council said: “The council has sought legal advice on the use of littering fixed penalty notices for urination and is satisfied that urination would be covered by the relevant legislation.”

It added: “The council does acknowledge that each case has to be assessed on its own merits, taking account of the specific location and any particular characteristics of the individual involved, and there is a right of representation for individuals to submit representations which will be duly considered.

“This process has resulted in fixed penalty notices being rescinded in specific circumstances.”

Lambeth council also lists public urination as an “environmental offence” that can be punished by a fixed penalty notice of £150 (or £100 if paid within 10 days).

Both Richmond and Bedford councils classify public urination as a littering offence.

‘To be litter, it must be capable of causing or leading to defacement and also must be left behind’