Widower, 70, fined £600 by council for feeding pigeons from OWN balcony

A pensioner is among more than 1,500 people who have been fined under controversial anti-social behaviour laws.

The 70-year-old widower was fined £600 and banned from feeding birds from his balcony under a strict Community Protection Notice (CPN), with the nearest permitted location being a local beach.

The fines were issued between November 2022 and October 2023, with councils using these powers to penalise citizens for a range of activities from skateboarding to maintaining untidy gardens.

Community Protection Notices were introduced a decade ago as a replacement for Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (Asbos).

The powers, which can be wielded by both councils and police, were designed to tackle problems like littering, loud noise and other anti-social behaviour.

CPNs are meant to be issued when behaviour is deemed to have a detrimental effect on the community.

Those who breach a CPN can face an on-the-spot fine, but critics argue the process is being abused by “busybody” councils.

Data obtained by the Manifesto Club through freedom of information requests revealed that 6,133 CPNs were issued in a single year.

During the period between November 2022 and October 2023, 98 councils issued at least one fine.

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Durham council emerged as the most prolific enforcer, issuing 468 fixed penalty notices.

While many fines targeted typical anti-social behaviour such as drug use, graffiti, and fly-tipping, a significant number were issued for more minor infractions.

In Bassetlaw, Nottinghamshire, authorities issued CPNs for “bees”, while at least three councils penalised residents for feeding pigeons or seagulls.

Twenty-five local authorities issued notices relating to “untidy gardens” or garden management.

Six councils handed out CPNs for “barking dogs”.

Waltham Forest council listed “bin placement” among its reasons for issuing notices.

In Windsor and Maidenhead, residents faced penalties for “skateboarding”.

Josie Appleton, director of the Manifesto Club, condemned the system, saying CPNs allowed councils to “slap you with a fine without going through a court or any kind of due process”.

“A council warden could decide that your garden is a bit messy and then you have a criminally binding order which can be fined the next day,” she told The Telegraph.

She criticised how council wardens were able to “act as judge and jury”.

The appeal process was “terrible” and “verging on non-existent”, she warned.

Appleton described the fines as “dystopian”, with council wardens being given “free rein” to enforce them.