A woman was arrested and handed a £100 fine for ‘feeding pigeons’ in northwest London.
Local council enforcement officers stopped the woman over an alleged breach of a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) relating to bird feeding.
The PSPO is in place across several councils in England to tackle excessive pigeon feeding in town centres.
Harrow Council handed the woman, who is in her 40s but has not been named, a £100 fine to be paid within 28 days for ‘throwing bread on the floor’.
Metropolitan Police officers arrested the woman on Wednesday after she failed to provide her details, including her name, age and address.
Footage taken by a passerby shows the moment the woman in handcuffs, looking visibly upset, while surrounded by what appeared to be six people on Wealdstone High Street.
One female officer held onto the woman’s arm, while another female police officer confiscated items from her pockets, which were placed in a plastic police bag.
The person filming the woman’s arrest on the high street can be heard shouting: ‘The lady is getting arrested for feeding the pigeons’.
‘That’s not a reason to have the woman in handcuffs,’ he said.
The video also shows the woman being taken to a police van, but she was later released.
She was given a note by council officers, which described the offence as ‘throwing bread on the floor’.
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It added that enforcement officers gave the woman a warning, but she ‘chose not to comply, so police were called’, which is considered standard practice for council officers.
The note said she had been given a fixed penalty notice of £100, which must be paid within 28 days to avoid prosecution.
Failure to do so could mean being ‘summoned to appear in the Magistrate court’, the note read.
A spokesperson for the Met said: ‘At around 14:30hrs on Wednesday, 7 January officers were approached by local council enforcement officers dealing with an anti-social behaviour incident on Wealdstone High Street, Harrow.
‘A woman, in her 40s, was repeatedly asked to provide her name and address so that a fixed penalty notice could be issued.
‘After speaking with officers for around 20 minutes, she repeatedly refused to provide her personal details. She was arrested on suspicion of breaching Section 50 of the Police Reform Act, which requires people to provide their name and address when requested to do so by the police.
‘Her details were later obtained, and she was de-arrested and dealt with by council officers.’
A spokesperson for Harrow Council said: ‘There was a breach of the Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) relating to bird feeding.
‘The individual refused to provide their details, which is an offence, and also refused to stop feeding pigeons when asked to do so.
‘Our PSPO is in place to help keep our streets clean and safe for everyone and anyone found breaching these faces £100 fixed penalty notice.’
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