Overzealous council officers accused of ‘chasing’ after a woman who poured the remnants of her coffee down a drain have quashed her £150 fine – and vowed they ‘won’t do it again’.
Burcu Yesilyurt, from Kew, West London, has welcomed the common sense decision after she was left ‘shaky’ from the incident just moments after tipping a small amount of her drink down the road gully.
She told earlier today how she had decided to discard the beverage from her reusable cup, because she did not want to spill it on the bus.
But moments later, she was ‘shocked’ to see three male enforcement officers coming after her down the street as she stood at a bus stop near Richmond station.
The officers fined her £150 under Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, and told her this would be reduced to £100 if she paid within 14 days.
Ms Yesilyurt said she found the encounter ‘quite intimidating’ and was left feeling shaken up on her way to work.
But Richmond-upon-Thames Council insisted its officers ‘acted professionally and objectively’ and said the punishment was issued in accordance with its policies.
It has continued to stand by that stance, but confirmed to Daily Mail that the penalty notice would now be cancelled.
Burcu Yesilyurt (pictured) was slapped with a £150 fine by council officers after pouring the remnants of her coffee down the drain
Ms Yesilyurt earlier told the BBC: ‘I noticed my bus was approaching, so I just poured the leftover bit. It wasn’t much, it was just a tiny little bit.
‘As soon as I turned around, I noticed three men, enforcement officers, chasing me, and they stopped me immediately.’
The local resident claimed she was not aware that pouring liquid down a drain was against the law when she did so on October 10.
It is an offence under Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to dispose of waste ‘in a manner likely to pollute water or land’.
Tipping liquids into street drains falls under this rule.
Ms Yesilyurt said she asked the officers if there were signs informing people of the law but they did not respond.
A spokesperson for Richmond Council said they did ‘not agree that officers behaved aggressively’ but acknowledged that the fine would likely have been ‘rescinded’ had it gone through the appeals process.
In a statement, a spokesperson said: ‘We have reviewed the body-worn footage of the incident.
Three male enforcement officers ‘chased’ Ms Yesilyurt down the street as she stood at the bus stop near Richmond station (pictured)
‘From this, it is clear that a contravention took place which justified the Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) being issued.
‘Contrary to the suggestion in reports, the enforcement officers acted appropriately and with sympathy. They were in no way aggressive.
‘FPNs clearly outline that there is an appeal process available to anyone who wishes to challenge them.
‘It is likely that, had this case progressed through that route, the notice would have been rescinded.
‘On this occasion, the Council has therefore decided to cancel the FPN.
‘We remain committed to protecting Richmond’s waterways and keeping our borough’s streets clean and safe.
‘We are also reviewing our advice on the disposal of liquids in a public place and will be updating this information on our website.’
During a visit to the area on Wednesday, Daily Mail discovered that enforcement officers patrolling Richmond High Street have been ordered not to hound anyone else for the same offence.
But one enforcement officer confirmed members of the public can still be punished for tipping their liquid on the floor.
He told the Mail: ‘It’s no longer an offence. We’ve been told not to do it again.
‘The woman complained to the council and there’s no reason to do it so they stopped it. I can’t speak for the other councils, but I can speak for us.
‘Last week we were told by our boss not to do it again.
‘It’s still an offence to pour it on the floor.’
Last year, Stoke City Council jobsworths slapped a couple with a £400 littering fine after one of them put an envelope in a public bin, and they were tracked down by the address on the front.
Deborah and Ian Day were hit with individual fines of £200 after fishing out the envelope which contained their address.
Deborah, who lives in Bentilee, Stoke-on-Trent, was on her way to work when she put the envelope in the public bin on her street.
But council investigators said this breaches sections 87 and 88 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and constituted it as an offence of littering because household waste cannot be put in a public bin.
A Stoke-on-Trent City Council spokesperson said at the time: ‘Stoke-on-Trent City Council is maintaining its zero-tolerance approach to illegal dumping in our towns and with that comes enforcement. We are continuing with proactive patrolling and investigations.
‘Once an area is under investigation and while evidence is being processed, we arrange for the removal of the waste with our cleansing teams. This case is currently under investigation with our Environmental Crime Team.
‘Fixed Penalty Notices are issued as an alternative to prosecution proceedings in court. We are committed to working together to clean up our city and will enforce, where evidence supports, against waste offences.’
