Kenneth Glad
An incident in a supermarket car park led to an enforcement notice and a subsequent review by local authorities. The case has drawn attention because of the unusual item at the centre of the dispute.
A Nottinghamshire woman who had spent the day collecting surplus groceries for local residents was issued a £150 fixed penalty notice after a kale leaf was found in a supermarket trolley, according to the Daily Mail.
Monica Serro, 42, had been gathering food parcels from supermarkets with her mother before distributing them free of charge to people in her community. The incident took place in the car park of a Sainsbury’s store in Arnold, Nottingham.
After unloading the groceries, Serro returned the trolley to a designated collection point. She later said she had not noticed that a loose kale leaf had become trapped in part of the trolley frame.
According to the paper, an enforcement officer working on behalf of Gedling Borough Council approached her and accused her of littering.
Dispute over a single leaf
Serro said she initially believed the officer was referring to packaging or another piece of rubbish. When she realised the issue concerned a vegetable leaf, she attempted to explain the situation.
“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,” she told the Daily Mail.
Fixed penalty notices are commonly used by councils across England to deal with littering and environmental offences. Local authorities often employ dedicated enforcement teams or external contractors to monitor public spaces and issue penalties where they believe an offence has occurred.
While such notices are intended to discourage deliberate littering, recipients can challenge them if they believe a mistake has been made or that the circumstances do not support enforcement action.
Questions over the notice
After receiving the fine, Serro reviewed the paperwork and decided to contest it.
She claimed the notice did not mention a kale leaf and instead referred to a cigarette being discarded. She also said the location listed on the document did not match the supermarket car park where the incident occurred.
Serro contacted the council and requested that officials examine bodycam footage from the enforcement officer.
20 Minutes wrote about the unusual nature of the case and the fact that the fine was issued while Serro was collecting food intended for people facing financial difficulties.
Council withdraws the fine
Gedling Borough Council later cancelled the fixed penalty notice and apologised to Serro.
In a statement quoted by the Daily Mail, the council said: “We have investigated the incident and agree that it was not a deliberate act of littering.”
The authority also stated that the recipient had been contacted to confirm that the notice had been withdrawn.
The matter thus ended without any payment being required.
Sources: Daily Mail, 20 Minutes
