After the recent shocking revelation that Harrow Council attempted to fine a 5 year-old-girl £1,000 for fly-tipping, they have been forced to back down and cancel the fine.
Harrow Council sent a fixed penalty notice addressed to the girl on 20th November, wherein it claimed that she had been “witnessed by a uniformed officer… committing the offence of fly-tipping”. However, this was later found to not have been the case.
The girl’s father made repeated appeals to the Council to cancel the fine but his pleas were ignored. Fortunately, he attended the ward surgery of his local Labour Councillor, Stephen Hickman, who raised the issue at a Council Cabinet meeting. After Cllr Hickman’s intervention, the fine was rescinded.
Cllr Hickman said that, while he supports enforcement to tackle Harrow’s waste crisis, “residents expect a fair process where the information is correct and an appeals process that is transparent.”
He added: “Charging a child is ridiculous and the process has been very stressful for her father. I am hopeful that the Council will look again at this case and review their protocols.”
Harrow Council leader, Councillor Paul Osborn, said “Obviously that is totally unacceptable and we will look into any of those accusations.”
Since this story broke in the national press just before Christmas, Harrow Council have now cancelled their contract with the APCOA enforcement agency responsible for distributing fines.