Grandmother fined £50 for picking up wrong dog mess (even though she cleaned up after her own pet too)

Published 20th May 2010

As a responsible dog owner, Pam Robson always cleans up after her labrador Derik when they go for a walk.

So when council wardens accused her of picking up the wrong dog mess, she cheerfully cleaned up a second deposit they said was Derik's and thought no more of it.

But the great-grandmother was stunned to receive a £50 fixed penalty for committing a 'dog fouling offence'. She has spent four months facing the threat of court action before the local authority decided to drop the allegation.

Yesterday she told of her anger at Sunderland council's behaviour. Mrs Robson, 60, was walking Derik in a field near her home in Houghton, County Durham, in January when he relieved himself as she chatted on her mobile.

After her call, the women's refuge volunteer went straight over to what she thought was Derik's mess and cleared it up.

But as she did so, two council enforcement officers walked towards her.

Mrs Robson said: 'They claimed I had not picked up the right mess. They took me over to another pile and said, "That's your dog's mess".

'I apologised and said I had honestly picked up what I thought was my dog's business.'

She thought that would be the end of the matter, but later received the penalty notice threatening court action, a £1,000 fine and a criminal record if she did not pay.

Mrs Robson wrote to her Labour MP, Fraser Kemp.

The authority finally backed down earlier this month after Mr Kemp, who did not stand for re- election on May 6, wrote to officials.

Mrs Robson said she was pleased the ticket had been quashed, but added that it never should have been issued in the first place.

Sunderland council made no comment.

On Tuesday, the Daily Mail's columnist Richard Littlejohn told how blind Albert McFall was handed a £40 fixed penalty notice even though he did not realise his guide dog had fouled waste ground near his home in Renfrew, Scotland.

The fine was later withdrawn.

Source: ' Daily Mail '

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