UK Council Apologizes After Fining Charity Worker for ‘Littering’
LONDON: A UK council has cancelled a £150 fine and apologized to a social worker who was penalized for littering while collecting food for the needy.
Monica Cerrao-Arnold, 42, was loading food parcels into her trolley in a supermarket car park in Nottingham when she was approached by a council enforcement officer. According to British media reports, the officer accused her of having litter in her shopping trolley and issued an on-the-spot fine.
Ms. Cerrao-Arnold had spent the day with her mother collecting essential food items from local supermarkets, which she distributes for free to people in need from her home.
Believing the fine was illegal, she challenged the decision with the Gedling Borough Council. The council subsequently cancelled the penalty, apologizing for what it termed a “technical error.” The woman stated that the “ridiculous” fine should never have been issued.
