Grandad, 86, Fined By Council For Spitting After Leaf ‘Blew Into His Mouth’

An OAP has been hit with a £250 fine by jobsworth litter wardens for spitting out a leaf that had blown into his mouth.

Roy Marsh, 86, was having a stroll through Skegness and plonked himself down on a bench by some reeds. One of the leaves struck him in the face and so he spat it out, and was slapped with a £250 fine.

Roy explains: ‘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 claims one of the officers told him: ‘We’ve got reason to believe you’ve been spitting’.

Roy told the officers at the South Parade Car Park in town that they were being ‘silly’, but they still issued him a fine of £250, which was later reduced on appeal to £150. Amazingly, Roy paid it. Although I guess he didn’t have a choice.

Roy adds: ‘It was something that could have happened to anyone. It’s left me anxious about going out.’

 ‘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.’

Roy’s wife Anna, 76, also gave a piece of her mind: ‘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. They are bullies.’

The story blew up after their daughter Jane posted about it on Facebook. East Lindsey District Council insists its enforcement teams ‘only approach individuals who have been seen committing environmental crime offences’, which I guess now includes spitting out leaves that have flown into your mouth?

What’s really sad about this is that it’s a blatant case of these enforcements officers seeking out an easy target, because I’m pretty sure if Roy had just ignored them and walked away there would have been nothing they could have done about it. They have no authority to detain anyone – you can literally just walk off.

It’s the same thing on trains. They’ll see a group of young lads jump the barriers, and be too intimidated to confront them. But if a meek student doesn’t have their discount card or an 80-year-old man buys the wrong ticket; they’re all over it.

If the East Lindsey District Council have any common sense or decency at all, they’ll get in touch with Roy and refund him the £150, and then issue some training to the idiot(s) who fined him in the first place. Wouldn’t bank on it though.

For the 81-year-old drug driver who claimed someone slipped cocaine into his birthday lemonade, click HERE. I for one believe him.