Army veteran hit with £70 fine for stopping in bus lane to give clothes to homeless man on Christmas Day

An army veteran has been given a £70 fine after stopping his car in an empty bus lane on Christmas Day to hand clothes to a homeless man.

Good Samaritan Lee Williamson, 43, who works with a charity that helps rough sleepers, saw the man outside Leicester railway station while dropping his daughter to work at about 10am on Christmas Day.

As there were no trains or buses that day, he pulled his car into the lane and then handed out hats, gloves, scarves and food to the homeless man.

Mr Williamson, a carpenter and charity worker, then spent the rest of Christmas Day with his family.

But on January 3, he was stunned to receive a penalty charge of £70 in the post from Leicester City Council.

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The father-of-three emailed the council to explain his charitable gesture but said it told him it would not be overturning the fine.

Mr Williamson, a former squaddie who served with the Royal Anglian Regiment for five years, said he felt he was being “punished for doing something good”.

He has refused to pay the fine and said he would be happy to contest the matter in court.

Mr Williamson, from Evington, Leicester, said: “I was dropping off my daughter at work just before 10am when I spotted this homeless guy outside the station.

“I really felt for him as Christmas Day and he looked freezing.

“There was literally no traffic at all and there were no buses on Christmas Day so I thought it would be perfectly safe to pull over.

“I stopped and gave him some hats, gloves, scarves and tinned food, Pot Noodles and biscuits.

“He was absolutely over the moon. He sat there on his own without another person in sight and I think I made his day.

“He was there on his own, which means he’s not a beggar, he wasn’t begging for money or anything, he was just alone and homeless.”

Mr Williamson had clothes in his car as he works with the charity, Once, We Were Soldiers, which supports homeless veterans.

“We work with the homeless and homeless veterans and I just thought I’d try and do a nice thing to somebody in need on Christmas Day,” he said.

“I thought once I explained to the council why I had pulled over they would just cancel the ticket.

“It’s not like I’ve parked up to go to the shops in rush hour on a busy week day. Of course I would never dream of doing that.

“It was a simple charitable gesture on a day when the city was absolutely dead, you would think common sense would prevail but obviously not.

“If someone now was to think of stopping to help, they might not now because of fear of getting in trouble or fined like me.

“But this hasn’t changed me, if someone needs help, I’ll help them.”

But Leicester City Council defended the fine, referencing the death of cyclist Sam Boulton, 26, outside the station in 2016.

He was knocked off his bike in July 2016 by a passenger getting out of a taxi, which caused him to fall into the path of a van.

City Mayor Peter Soulsby said: “Camera enforcement of the stopping and parking restrictions outside the station was introduced following a fatal accident in July 2016.

“Cyclist Sam Boulton was knocked into the path of a moving van when a passenger of a private hire vehicle that had stopped briefly on the double yellow lines opened her door into the road.

“Camera enforcement of the bus clearway is now in operation 24/7, 365 days a year and is an important safety measure.

“While buses may not be operating on Christmas Day, there is every likelihood that cyclists and other traffic will be using this stretch of road and stopping illegally in this area should still be considered dangerous.

“While we do recognise the good intentions in this instance, ample safe and legal parking was available within just a few metres of the bus clearway.

“The driver now has the right to appeal the council’s decision to an independent adjudicator, whose judgement will be final.”