Shocking moment woman is arrested and fined for feeding pigeons
A tearful woman was hauled off in handcuffs by police after she allegedly refused to stop feeding pigeons on a street in London.
Footage of her bizarre arrest in the town of Harrow on Wednesday (7 January) afternoon has been widely circulating online.
According to reports, the woman had been doling out bread to the birds which were hanging around Wealdstone High Street when local council workers spotted her.
The enforcement officers accused her of breaching a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO), which forbids people from giving food to birds 'and vermin'.
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This order is in place in various areas across the UK, and it was brought in to 'tackle excessive pigeon feeding, protect businesses and improve quality of life'.
It is a criminal offence to bypass the PSPO, which is punishable by a fixed penalty notice of £100, or prosecution and a fine of up to £1,000.
Harrow Council employees then attempted to give the woman - who is in her 40s but has not been named - a fine for her alleged pigeon feeding antics.
A piece of paper explaining the penalty stated that she was being slapped with a £100 fine, which requires payment within 28 days, for 'throwing bread on the floor'.
But the local authority claims that the animal lover 'repeatedly refused to provide her personal details' after being confronted, resulting in them calling the police for backup.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police then arrived at the scene and ultimately arrested the woman.
The force said she was nicked 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'.
Footage of this entire exchange was captured by a bystander who uploaded it to their 'auditing channel' on YouTube, which is named The Fool Catcher.
In the clip, the emotional woman can be seen crying in handcuffs as several council enforcement officers and cops surround her on the street.
The video then appears to show her being searched by a female police officer, who places the items retrieved from the woman's pockets into a bag.
In the background, the man who filmed the dramatic footage can be heard saying: "For feeding the pigeons? This is ridiculous! You could have just told the lady not to do that and let her go on with her business."
He is then told that the woman 'chose not to comply', before he later asks the responding officers: "I want to know how your sleeping in your bed at night?"
According to the Met Police, the woman eventually handed over her details, so she was 'de-arrested and dealt with by council officers'.
In a statement shared with LADbible, a spokesperson for the force said: "At around 14:30hrs on Wednesday Jan 7 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."
Harrow Council also said in a statement to LADbible: "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 a £100 fixed penalty notice."
Olivia Burke