Council Spends Thousands On Prosecuting Man Who Accidentally Dropped Orange Peel

A council has wasted thousands of pounds of taxpayers money on trying to prosecute a man who accidentally dropped a tiny piece of orange peel - and still picked it up.

Luke Gutteridge was accused of littering by a jobsworth enforcement officer after he dropped the piece of peel - that was the size of a 10p coin.

The 29-year-old had already put the rest of the peel in the bin before being handed a £75 fine, but he swiftly picked up the piece he accidentally dropped before placing it in the bin and apologising.

However, the council worker refused to cancel the penalty and Luke was told he would be taken to court if he refused to pay.

Now Broxbourne Council faces a bill of around £8,000 after losing the case against Luke, who decided to fight the case.

Luke was given the fine in Hoddesdon, Herts in September last year by a worker from Kingdom, who are contracted by Broxbourne Council to monitor littering.

After the case dragged on for nine months, Luke said “justice has now been done”.

The former salesman said: “I couldn’t believe it. It was absolutely stupid.

"I hate litter louts and never thought that I would have been classed as one for accidentally dropping a little piece of peel of which I was totally unaware.

"I was told to effectively put up and shut up by the council and asked in court why I hadn’t simply paid the fine by the council’s solicitor.

"I chose not to take the easy way out, as I had not intentionally dropped the peel and decided to fight my corner and prove the council wrong.

"I hate littering and was prepared to clear my good name at any cost.

"I feel justice has now been done.”

Magistrates accepted his defence that littering is only an offence if there is proof the person intended to leave it.

The result has left Broxbourne Borough Council having to pay their own legal fees of an estimated £4,000, and they may also have to pay another £4,000 to cover Luke’s fees.

All the money comes out of central funds - paid for by the taxpayer.

Luke said that the council “should pay the costs from its own pockets instead of expecting the rate and taxpayers to pay for its own mess”.

"The council told me that they were confident that they would get the costs of the trial from me and advised the court that their costs would be around #4,000, and they were aware that mine would be of a similar amount.”

Despite losing the case, the council remained defiant and a spokeswoman said they agreed to take the case to court because Luke and the officer had different versions of events.

A spokeswoman said: “The Council reviews all cases at all stages up to court but in this case the facts put forward by the defendant and those recorded by the Enforcement Officer differed and therefore it was decided by the court.

"The Council was not ordered to pay the costs of the defence because it was not at fault, and only officer time was spent by the Council.

"The vast majority of cases brought by the Council heard by the court are found proved.

"Broxbourne Council takes all offences of littering seriously and works hard to keep the Borough clean and pleasant for its residents and visitors.”

Pictures courtesy of Masons