- Have you been hit by an unfair fine? E-mail: Rory.Fleming@mailonline.co.uk
A mother-of-two says she was made to feel ‘like a criminal’ after being slapped with a £100 littering fine – for a receipt falling out of her handbag.
Jayne Saywell, 56, was ambling along Bromley High Street in southeast London last week when the incredulous incident occurred.
Enjoying some much needed retail therapy after the recent passing of her father, the beauty therapist was leaving her local TK Maxx store when she was hit by ‘a bit of a wind tunnel’.
Causing the receipt to fly out of her handbag, the 56-year-old claims she saw a glimpse of the piece of paper out of the corner of her eye, but that at the time she paid no attention to it, not knowing what it was or where it came from.
Continuing on with her day along the high street, Ms. Saywell was shocked to be approached by an environmental enforcement officer who slapped the mother-of-two with a £100 fine.
Jayne Saywell (pictured) claims she was unfairly fined £100 for littering after a receipt fell out of her handbag
The incident occurred at the entrance of TK Maxx on Bromley High Street in southeast London
Speaking to the moment the receipt went flying out of her bag, Ms. Saywell 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.’
The Keston resident went to describe her interaction with the enforcement officer as ‘not a nice experience’, stating that she felt ‘quite harassed’.
Already grieving the loss of her father, the fine ‘completely ruined’ Ms. Saywell’s day out, with the beautician also claiming that despite offering to pick up the receipt, she wasn’t allowed.
The whole experience left Ms. Saywell feeling, in her own words, ‘like a criminal’.
Ms. Saywell has since lodged an appeal against the fine in which she has asked the local council to review the footage to see that she ‘obviously’ hadn’t done it on purpose.
Also posting about her ordeal on Facebook, Ms. Saywell says that she has been approached by several other people, mainly women, who have experienced similar incidents.
Adding that littering is something she has never previously done, Ms. Saywell remarked on the unfairness of the incident and how it left her ‘angry’ and ‘upset’.
‘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’.
