Oldbury gran threatened with £2,500 fine for dropping fag ash

Aug 15 2010 by Adam Aspinall, Sunday Mercury

AN elderly widow has been threatened with a £2,500 fine by council officials – for dropping cigarette ash on the pavement.

Sheila Martin, 70, was smoking at a bus stop when a warden pounced and handed her the £75 fixed penalty for littering.

The cash-strapped gran refused to pay – and has now been warned it could rise to £2,500.

Sheila, from Oldbury, was hit with the original fine by the Sandwell Council warden after visiting her daughter on May 25.

She said: “I still can’t believe what happened.

“I was sat at a bus stop quietly enjoying a cigarette and from nowhere a warden appeared and accused me of littering.

“I couldn’t believe it, I was only smoking a cigarette. It is one of the few things I can afford to buy myself.”

Mrs Martin claims she was so shocked that she later suffered an asthma attack at home – and was knocked unconscious for three hours after falling over.

She said: “I’ve always been a law-abiding person, so this was all a big shock to me and I just keeled over.

“I haven’t been the same since and have only got by thanks to the help of my friends and neighbours. It feels like I am being victimised.”

Mrs Martin had initially refused to pay the £75 fixed penalty charge. But she has seven days to cough up or she will be summoned to court and could face a fine of up to £2,500.