Woman tears her parking ticket, is slapped with Rs 28,000 fine for littering

A woman in Cornwall, a small county in England, was slapped with a double fine after she tore up her first ticket. A civil enforcement officer first gave her a parking ticket for leaving her car in a no-loading zone in Falmouth, Cornwall. She later came, removed the ticket, tore it up and threw it on the floor. She was then charged an additional £250 ($335 or Rs 28,000) for littering. The local council shared the videos captured by the officer's body camera. The woman can be seen taking off the first ticket and throwing it on the ground. Her actions led to two fines - one for the parking and another for littering. The amount was later reduced to £150 as it was paid earlier than due time. Since she had destroyed the first ticket, another notice for the parking offence was sent to her. The video also shows her yelling at the officer.

Cornwall has come down pretty heavily on people who litter. Besides this woman, two others were earlier fined for scattering garbage. This includes a man who threw an egg custard carton from his vehicle on a country lane in the St Austell area. Another woman was caught dropping a bottle in Falmouth and was slapped with a £250 penalty. The culprits were identified through CCTV footage. The local council saw the videos, after which probes were launched to search for the two offenders. They admitted to their actions and paid an early fine of £150.

Cornwall officials are pretty serious about keeping their town clean and are clear that any offenders will be caught and punished. County councillor Thalia Marrington, portfolio holder for community safety and public health, said, “Cornwall is beautiful, and we want to keep it that way. There is no excuse for dropping litter, and when we have evidence of these offences, we will always try to trace those responsible." She added that CCTV videos are being used to capture offenders. Thailia also urged the community to report anyone who they see littering. "More and more people now have doorbell and home security cameras that capture this type of offence," she said, requesting anyone who sees something to report it.