Havering Council sorry after elderly woman fined in Romford

Havering Council has apologised after a fine allegedly issued to an elderly woman for dropping a piece of paper sparked outrage.

A video posted on social media on July 24 appeared to show the woman being issued with a £150 fixed penalty notice (FPN) by a council enforcement officer for dropping paper in Romford.

In the video, an officer said: “We don’t give warnings” and “it’s my job,” before being told that the woman was almost 90 years old.

Another officer said it was part of the council’s zero tolerance approach to littering.

Havering Council today (July 25) offered an apology to the woman, said it had cancelled the fine and new training would be put in place.

“This looks like an unacceptable situation that should not have happened,” a spokesperson said.

“We thank residents for bringing this to our attention and we were also disappointed to see this footage.”

RELATED NEWS: Company pleads guilty to safety failing after Romford man killed by scaffolding

The video appears to show four enforcement officers in attendance.

Andrew Rosindell, Conservative MP for Romford, said it was a shameful and unacceptable way to treat residents.

“There is no judgement or common sense used here,” he commented. “I’m appalled to see this footage and I believe it brings the council into disrepute.”

David Taylor, Conservative councillor for St Edward’s ward in Romford, added that he was upset after seeing the footage, felt there should have been a warning and questioned the need for so many officers.

In response to a resident’s query, Cllr Taylor added: “I’m all for enforcement, but I don’t like this.”

The council spokesperson said it is carrying out an investigation “to understand exactly what happened”.

Last month, the authority announced it would set up an enforcement team to crack down on littering by handing out FPNs.

Uniformed officers would be responsible for issuing fines, which range from £150 for littering to £400 for fly tipping.