Mother handed £150 fine for 'littering' after leaving a kale leaf in shopping trolley
The council apologised for the "technical error" and has since cancelled the fine
A volunteer collecting food parcels for people in need has spoken after she was slapped with a £150 fine after accidentally leaving a kale leaf in her shopping trolley.
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Monica Serro, 42, was unloading shopping into her car in Sainsbury's car park in Arnold, Nottingham, when she was accosted by a council officer who accused her of littering.
The welfare officer from Nottingham had spent the day with her mum collecting food parcels from supermarkets in the area to give to local families from her home for free.
But as Ms Serro walked back to her car after wheeling the trolley to the drop-off point, an eagle-eyed council employee stormed over after spotting a single leaf of kale had been left wedged into the metal frame.
The council officer claimed Ms Serro had committed an "illegal" act by leaving the solitary kale leaf in the trolley and issued her with an £150 ticket for littering.
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Ms Serro said: "As I returned, an officer from the council was there and he walked up to us and said 'You know you just littered, you left a wrapping paper in the trolley'.
"I said no I didn't. He said it was illegal and was reaching for the device to print out a fine.
"I showed him it was a kale leaf left behind on a trolley. He said, "Yeah that's food waste, next time use a bin." I was stunned.
"The whole thing was ridiculous. You're trying to reduce food waste and then you get told you're adding to it."
She added: "I've never heard of anyone being fined £150 for a kale leaf. I think he was fishing for tickets."
Ms Serro and her mother tried to explain that she was a volunteer delivering food for the community and that she hadn't noticed the stray kale leaf in the trolley - but the adamant officer said if she kept arguing he would increase the fine.
Adding insult to injury, the officer proceeded to retrieve the offending kale leaf and hand it back to Ms Serro along with the fine.
After the incident, Ms Serro contacted the council to dispute the charge; but had to send several emails before the local authority agreed to drop the fine.
She said the ticket actually said she had been fined for dropping a cigarette butt.
The council have since sent an email to Ms Serro apologising for the mishap, describing it as a "technical error".
An email from the council's complaints team stated: "I have reviewed the body camera footage and evidence surrounding your fixed penalty notice and apologise for the communication error with the title of the offence.
"This is due to a technical error, and I apologise for any distress this has caused. I have cancelled your fixed penalty notice on this occasion."
A spokesperson for Gedling Borough Council said: "We have investigated the incident and agree that it was not a deliberate act of littering.
"The Fixed Penalty Notice issued by our contracted environmental enforcement agents was cancelled and the recipient was contacted on the 13th June to confirm this.'We apologise for any distress caused."