Grieving mum 'felt like criminal' after being given £100 fine when 'receipt dropped out of bag'

Jayne Saywell said it was an accident and offered to pick it up, but she was still fined

A mum said she was made to feel “like a criminal” after being slapped with a £100 littering fine - when a receipt dropped out her handbag. Jayne Saywell, 56, said she was wandering through Bromley High Street, south east London, last Thursday to cheer herself up after her dad passed away.

As the shopper came out of the local TK Maxx, she said there was “a bit of a wind tunnel” - and a receipt came flying out of her bag, she claimed. The beauty therapist said she saw a glimpse of the piece of paper out of the corner of her eye, but at the time didn’t know what it was or where it came from, so moved on. It was then that she was approached by an environmental enforcement officer and slapped with a £100 fine, she claimed.

She said: “I saw it out of the corner of my eye and wasn’t 100 per cent sure it was mine. I hadn’t thought anything of it.

“I wasn’t going to chase after someone else’s rubbish and I hadn’t realised it was mine. Two minutes later, an environmental enforcement officer was threatening to detain me if I didn’t give him my details.

“It was not a nice experience. I was quite harassed and it wasn’t pleasant. It wasn’t my fault, that’s what got me.

“I just wanted to get through my day when I was already sad and it just ruined my day completely. I offered to go pick it up, but they wouldn’t let me, it is just not reasonable behaviour. It made me feel like a criminal.”

The mum-of-two, from nearby Keston, has since appealed the fine, asking for the council to review the footage and see that she “obviously” hadn’t done it on purpose. She said that, since posting the incident on Facebook, several others had approached her with similar stories - particularly other women.

Mrs Saywell added: “I don’t ever do anything wrong; I never throw litter on the floor. I felt really wronged by it. I was so angry. It just wasn’t right because I didn’t throw it on the floor.

“It was just really unfair. It was really upsetting. It was just a horrible experience. I will pay it begrudgingly, but I just feel that it is really unfair. I was laying awake all night thinking about what I should have said in the moment.”

Bromley Council has been approached for a comment.