Grandad, 86, fined by council for spitting after leaf ‘blew into his mouth’

A pensioner has been left ‘anxious’ to go outside after being fined by the council for spitting out a leaf that had blown into his mouth.

Roy Marsh, 86, was slapped with a £250 fine after being caught ‘littering’ by jobsbody enforcers as he walked through Skegness.

He had plonked himself down on a bench by some reeds when one of the huge leaves struck him in the face.

‘As I was sitting there, a gale blew a big reed into my mouth. I spat it out and just as I got up to walk away two guys (enforcement officers) came up to me,’ he said.

Mr Marsh claimed one of the officers in the seaside town shouted ‘Hey you, we’ve got reason to believe you’ve been spitting’.

‘It was all unnecessary and all out of proportion.’ Mr Marsh said, claiming he called the officer a ‘silly boy’.

A fine of £250 was issued in February, which was later reduced on appeal to £150. Mr Marsh had no choice but to pay.

‘It was something that could have happened to anyone,’ he said. ‘It’s left me anxious about going out.’

The grandfather-of-two said: ‘I was shocked when they approached me. I don’t know where they appeared from.

‘I’ve been back down there filming today for the local TV news and it was windy again – a leaf smacked me right in the face while we were walking so it could have happened again.’

His 76-year-old wife Anne who helped her husband run a taxi firm before their retirement, said: ‘Roy didn’t spit – how many 86-year-olds do you know who go around spitting? It’s a dirty habit.

‘This really upset him. We’ve watched these officers approach many older people since. It’s like they are bullies.’

The matter was brought to light by their daughter Jane, who posted on Facebook that she was ‘disgusted’.

Ms Fitzpatrick wrote: ‘Recently Dad who has walking difficulties but does his best to walk every day around the boating lake, inhaled a small leaf that made him choke

‘Dad has severe asthma and a heart condition, he managed to cough up the leaf and spit it out. (just the leaf).’

She claimed to have seen enforcement officials approach older people ‘many times’, and even if they pick up litter and apologize or it falls out of their pocket accidentally they are still pressured into a fine.

‘While it is important to keep our town clean, and yes I absolutely agree, the beach is often left in a disgusting state, these officers are unreasonably harassing and terrorising older people. It is a total disgrace,’ she said.

East Lindsey District Council said enforcement teams, who work on behalf of the authority, would ‘only approach individuals who have been seen committing environmental crime offenses’.

The council said it closely monitored enforcement actions and patrols were ‘not targeted at any specific demographic’ and are ‘no discriminatory’.

Councillor Martin Foster, the portfolio holder for operational services, said ‘The council closely monitors data on enforcement actions, including those relating to such things as littering, fly-tipping and dog-related offenses.

‘Our ultimate aim is to invoke a change in behavior and stop people committing environmental crime so residents and visitors can enjoy a clean and safe environment.’