Grieving mother ‘felt like a criminal’ after being fined £100 because ‘receipt fell out of bag’

A mother said she felt “like a criminal” after she was fined £100 for littering – when a receipt fell out of her handbag. Jayne Saywell, 56, said she was walking along Bromley High Street in southeast London last Thursday to cheer herself up after her father’s death.

As the shopper emerged from the local TK Maxx, she said there was “some sort of wind tunnel” – and a receipt flew out of her bag, she claimed. The beauty therapist said she saw the piece of paper out of the corner of her eye, but at the time she didn’t know what it was or where it came from, so she moved on. At the time, she claimed, she was approached by an environmentalist and fined £100.

She said: “I saw it out of the corner of my eye and wasn’t 100% sure it was mine. I didn’t think anything of it.

“I wasn’t planning on chasing someone else’s trash and I didn’t realize it was mine. Two minutes later, an environmental police officer threatened to arrest me if I didn’t give him my details.

“It wasn’t a nice experience. I was harassed quite a bit and it wasn’t pleasant. It wasn’t my fault, it got to me.

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

The mother-of-two, from nearby Keston, has since appealed against the fine and asked the council to review the footage and determine that she “obviously” did not do it on purpose. She said since the incident was posted on Facebook, several others have approached her with similar stories – particularly other women.

Ms Saywell added: “I never do anything wrong; I never throw trash on the ground. I felt really unfairly treated by this. I was so angry. It just wasn’t right because I didn’t throw it on the ground.

“It was just really unfair. It was really annoying. It was just a terrible experience. I’ll begrudgingly pay it, but I just think it’s really unfair. I lay awake all night thinking about what I should have said at that moment.”

Bromley Council has been contacted for comment.