Moment woman is handcuffed and fined ‘for feeding pigeons’ in London

This is the moment a woman was placed in handcuffs by police and fined £100 for feeding some pigeons in London.

Video footage captured by a passerby showed a woman being detained by a group of officers and council enforcement workers in Harrow on Wednesday, in the latest example of jobsworth council officials slapping the public with petty fines. 

A piece of paper later handed to the woman showed she had been stopped for being in breach of a Public Spaces Protection Order which covers town and district centres in Harrow.

The woman, who was in handcuffs and at times visibly upset, was surrounded by at least six police officers and two council enforcement officers. 

It comes after a series of incidents which have seen Brits fined for seemingly harmless behaviour including the passing out of leaflets campaigning against council cuts and leaving furniture outside to go to a good home.

This latest incident unfolded at around 3pm on Wednesday on the High Street in Wealdstone, London.

Police were seen searching pockets while a man who was filming the encounter repeatedly challenged the officers over the stop. 

Her possessions were confiscated and placed in a plastic bag by officers, although they were later returned.

The woman, who has not been identified, was placed in the back of a police van but was later released and was free to go.

She had been handed a note by police officers which showed she had been detained for feeding the birds.

The particulars of the offence were described as ‘throwing bread on the floor’.

It was claimed the woman had received a warning from enforcement officers ‘but chose not to comply so police were called’.

The paper added the woman had been issued with a fixed penalty notice of £100, which she was ordered to pay within 28 days to avoid prosecution.

‘If you fail to make payment within 28 days you may be summons [sic] to appear in the Magistrate court.’

During the incident multiple passersby stopped and expressed concern at the woman’s detention, questioning why she had been handcuffed for simply throwing some bread on the ground. 

Harrow Council has multiple Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs), which ban certain behaviours such as drinking and taking drugs in various areas of the borough.

The woman was stopped under Harrow’s Town and District Centres PSPO, which explicitly outlaws the ‘feeding of birds and vermin’.

Aggressive begging, blocking access to businesses during opening hours and leaving commercial waste in public spaces are also forbidden under the PSPO.

Other activities, such as the use of loudspeakers and distribution of leaflets, require advance permission. 

The enforcement of PSPOs are typically left to council officers, but police can become involved if a person refuses to comply. 

The breach of a PSPO can result in a fixed penalty notice of prosecution, at which point a fine of up to £1,000 can be imposed. 

It is the latest example of Brits being slapped with petty fines for ‘offences’ many may not even know exist. 

Heather Rawling, 72, of Fleckney, Leicestershire, was hit with a £100 penalty notice last year after setting up a table in Leicester to campaign against council cuts.

But while she was campaigning on May 31 she was approached by a street warden who ordered her to dismantle it, branding it an ‘unauthorised structure’.

The retired humanities teacher was told she was in breach of a public spaces protection order (PSPO), designed to combat anti-social behaviour such as street drinkers and e-bike riders.

She received a £100 fine three days later but vowed to fight the matter in court, where she estimates the bill could rise to £1,000 if she loses.

Elsewhere, a 37-year-old from West Kensington was fined £1,000 after putting his bins out a day early before going on holiday.

Clyde Strachan decided to help refuse collectors by placing his rubbish outside his West Kensington home shortly before midday in May.

He then went away for a week and when he returned was faced with an ‘environmental enforcement notice’, which demanded he make contact with Hammersmith and Fulham Council.

The engineer then received an £1,000 fixed penalty notice, but this was later retracted on appeal.

And in September, single mother Isabelle Pepin, from Southborne, Dorset, placed an Ikea chest of draws and stacking cabinet outside her home, along with a sign stating they were free for anyone to take.

The chest of drawers was quickly snatched up, and after a few hours, Ms Pepin returned the stacking cabinet to her property.

She was then stunned to receive a £500 flytipping fine by council officials, who turned up at her doorstep three weeks later – even threatening her with prison.

Ms Pepin, who lives with her eight-year-old son Bear, was making his tea when the council official turned up on her doorstep and demanded to know her name and date of birth before issuing her with the fine. 

The Met Police and Harrow Council have been contacted for comment.