Pensioner fined £150 for feeding ducks in Ealing flabbergasted by littering claim
A pensioner fined £150 for feeding ducks said he was shocked after being accused of littering.
James Watson, 68, was slapped with a fixed penalty notice by an enforcement team working on behalf of Ealing Council earlier this month.
He was handed the penalty for "throwing bird food on the ground and walking away" during an outing in the west London borough.
Mr Watson claimed he was throwing the food into the Grand Union Canal from the towpath in Southall.
But the ticket said he was littering in Bedford Avenue, Hayes, a cul-de-sac three roads from the Grand Union Canal.
Mr Watson also said he wasn’t throwing bird feed on the ground but instead into the water, where the ducks were eating it.
He only realised the details on the ticket were wrong when he got home and was able to put his glasses on.
"I am actually a volunteer for litter picking groups in Ealing so when my dad was accused of littering I was shocked," said James’ son, Dave Watson.
"I had brought him the specialised feed to make sure he was helping the birds and environment.
"We tried to appeal the ticket but there isn’t actually a formal appeal process for a fixed penalty notice. Even though the ticket had the wrong details on, wrong accusations and wrong road, he was still expected to pay it.
"He almost gave up and just paid the fine because contesting it in court would cost more money than paying the ticket would. It caused him a lot of stress when we knew that purpose duck food is not classed as litter because when it is thrown in the water and eaten the purpose is for it to be eaten, not littered," he added.
The younger Mr Watson has now been able to get the ticket cancelled and his dad was excused from paying the fine.
The council apologised to the father and son, and said that from now on enforcement staff would not charge people for feeding ducks.
Mr Watson Jr. continued: "My dad has heart conditions and this didn’t help with his stress. I am glad we didn’t pay the charge. Officials were very apologetic about the whole situation and assured me those feeding ducks won’t be prosecuted in the future."
An Ealing Council spokesperson added: "In a densely populated urban environment, food thrown or dropped on the floor can attract mice and rats. The Canal and River Trust approached us to involve our Kingdom enforcement team to consider ways to reduce the amount of food left lying around on the towpath.
"On occasion this means handing out single fixed penalty notices to those who don’t play by the rules and spoil it for everyone else. This stretch of canal is regularly visited by the Kingdom enforcement team and they’ve received positive responses by most towpath users who understand that we want to keep our towpaths and waterways clean for people to enjoy.
"On this occasion, we appreciate that Mr Watson was feeding the ducks in the canal and not littering the towpath. We have cancelled his fixed penalty notice, and have apologised to him directly."