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Wales Online
2 days ago
- Wales Online
Man responded to Facebook post and it ended up costing him more than £1,200
Man responded to Facebook post and it ended up costing him more than £1,200 James Joyce claimed he 'did everything by the book' - but it turned out to be untrue A man has been ordered to pay a total of £1,274 after taking away waste despite not having a licence to do so (Image: Neath Port Talbot Council ) A man has been ordered to pay more than £1,200 after responding to a Facebook post asking someone to remove waste even though he was not licensed to do so. Unknown to James Joyce, 45, of Llangyfelach Road, Swansea, the Facebook post was part of Operation Walt - a joint "test purchase" operation to combat unlicensed waste carriers by Neath Port Talbot Council with partners South Wales Police. After Joyce responded to the social media post, he removed the waste advertised for £40 from Lonlas Village Workshops in October of last year. He assured a member of staff he spoke to at the workshops "he did everything by the book". Don't miss a court report by signing up to our crime newsletter here . After driving away with the waste, Joyce was stopped and spoken to by waste enforcement officers. A check confirmed that he did not have a licence to transport waste so he was issued an Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) for the offence. As payment was not received, a reminder letter was sent to Joyce who made no contact with waste enforcement officers and as such a final reminder letter was sent out via first class post in November last year. Article continues below Later, after the FPN was not still not paid he was prosecuted for carrying controlled waste, contrary to s1(5) of the Control of Pollution (amendment) Act 1989. At Swansea Magistrates Court on Thursday, May 29, Joyce pleaded guilty to the offence and was fined £615, ordered to pay costs of £413 and given a £246 victim surcharge - a total of £1,274. Councillor Scott Jones, Neath Port Talbot Council's cabinet member for streetscene, said: "The cheap and unlawful removal of waste by unlicensed persons, has an effect on the local economy in that it presents unfair competition to legitimate businesses and this case shows the council and its partners will use every power available to them to bring to justice anyone who moves waste without the proper licence being in place."
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Yahoo
‘I received a £10k Covid fine – one jokey snowball fight has ruined my life'
Are you still facing a coronavirus offence case in the courts? Did a lockdown fine affect your life? Get in touch at money@ When Xen Watts organised a snowball fight on Facebook he never imagined it would turn his life upside down. It was January 2021 – the start of the third and longest Covid lockdown in England, and the 23-year-old Leeds University student created the event out of boredom. It was meant to be an ironic joke, poking fun at how restricted everyone's lives had become. Unfortunately for him, more than 100 people gathered on a snow-dusted Woodhouse Moor the next day. Later that week, the police knocked on Watts's door and summoned him to the station for an interview. As evidence, they presented a screenshot showing that he had created the event. 'The officer wrote down the number '3,600' on a piece of paper and slid it across the table,' Watts says. 'He asked me 'Do you know what this means, Mr Watts?', and I said I don't know. He said, 'This is the number of people who have died from Covid-19 since your snowball fight, how do you feel about that?' Watts was issued with the maximum possible fine of £10,000 – and the threat of a criminal record if he didn't pay. 'I didn't take it seriously. I didn't think I'd done anything wrong, so I didn't pay. I thought that justice would prevail.' The fixed penalty notice (FPN) saddled Watts with 'crippling debt' but also the stigma of being a Covid rule-breaker. 'Certain friendship groups stopped speaking to me. I stopped going to lectures. My mental health was in a dire state. 'I'm not going to whine. I live in a first-world country with many privileges, but this fine derailed my life and made me hate the system.' Watts is one of the nearly 120,000 people to be issued FPNs for breaking lockdown rules in England and Wales during the pandemic. Almost half – 48pc – of these fines were issued to 18- to 24-year-olds, even though they account for just 8pc of the population. Between March 2020 and July 2021, there were three national lockdowns when attending gatherings, leaving home or failing to wear a face mask could all result in a fine or prosecution. Non-payment of an FPN is not in itself a criminal offence but if it remains unpaid, the person receiving it may be summoned to court for prosecution for the original offence. A defendant can then receive a criminal record if convicted. The Covid rules led to over 29,000 people being handed criminal convictions because they either contested or did not pay the fine. Among those to receive a criminal record were an 18-year-old student who attended a party during a lockdown, a 35-year-old man who hosted family members on New Year's Eve and a 72-year-old woman who travelled back from Kenya without evidence of a negative Covid test. Criminal convictions can prevent people from working as teachers, social workers or police officers, as the police can pass these details to prospective employers if they are deemed 'relevant' for criminal background checks. Convictions must also be declared when applying for visas to visit countries like the US and Canada, both of which reserve the right to permanently ban anyone who fails to reveal one. Ministry of Justice data shows that the 29,000 criminal fines issued by magistrates totalled £26m – more than for any other type of crime since the start of the pandemic, apart from motoring offences and TV licence evasion. A further £8.2m was paid by people who were handed FPNs. Watts refused to pay the fine for two and a half years despite repeated letters and threats of prosecution, in part out of principle, and because he hoped it might get rescinded. He eventually decided to settle in late 2023 after his debt was transferred to a debt collection agency and bailiffs started making regular visits to his home. As a result, he has avoided getting a criminal record. He chose to pay the fine in instalments, scraping the money together from bank loans and his work as a DJ and promoter. 'It was so stressful, so horrible,' he says. 'Financially, it's been crippling.' Nearly five years on from the first national lockdown, there are still 114 outstanding 'coronavirus offence' cases making their way through the courts, according to the Government. In June, Robert Buckland, the former Tory justice secretary, called for an amnesty for those handed criminal convictions for breaking Covid rules. Lord Sumption, a former Supreme Court judge, said that criminalisation for rule breaches during the pandemic was 'ridiculous' and a 'miscarriage of justice'. Sir Keir Starmer has failed to back calls for an amnesty. Penelope Gibbs, director of the charity Transform Justice, believes the legislation granting police powers to issue Covid fines was 'sloppily drafted, rushed, and poorly scrutinised'. She adds: 'Some of the fines are incredibly high and difficult to pay. These penalties were disproportionate and a lot of people incurred them without being fully aware of the law. 'If you have vague legal wording and rules that keep changing suddenly, people interpret it in different ways – including the police.' Official data shows that some police forces were more inclined to issue fines than others. Almost half of the court-issued fines – worth £12.4m – were raised by just five forces: the Metropolitan Police, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Lancashire and South Wales. Behaviour could have been changed without a heavy-handed legal approach, according to Ms Gibbs. 'It was a misuse of the law.' The apparently arbitrary nature of the fines is another injustice that supporters of an amnesty point to. Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, who were then prime minister and chancellor, each received a £50 fixed penalty notice from the Metropolitan Police for attending a 'gathering' in Downing Street in June 2020. Both paid the fine and apologised, but rejected calls to resign. Four years after Watts was issued his fine, it's this hypocrisy that rankles most. 'The police took five minutes to decide to issue me with a £10,000 fine. And then Boris gets £50 and a slap on the wrist. 'It makes me feel a complete and utter loss of trust and hope in the system that I used to hold in high regard,' he says. 'I regret that I made that Facebook event, but I'm not ashamed of what I did.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
12-03-2025
- Telegraph
‘I received a £10k Covid fine – one jokey snowball fight has ruined my life'
When Xen Watts organised a snowball fight on Facebook he never imagined it would turn his life upside down. It was January 2021 – the start of the third and longest Covid lockdown in England, and the 23-year-old Leeds University student created the event out of boredom. It was meant to be an ironic joke, poking fun at how restricted everyone's lives had become. Unfortunately for him, more than 100 people gathered on a snow-dusted Woodhouse Moor the next day. Later that week, the police knocked on Watts's door and summoned him to the station for an interview. As evidence, they presented a screenshot showing that he had created the event. 'The officer wrote down the number '3,600' on a piece of paper and slid it across the table,' Watts says. 'He asked me 'Do you know what this means, Mr Watts?', and I said I don't know. He said, 'This is the number of people who have died from Covid-19 since your snowball fight, how do you feel about that?' Watts was issued with the maximum possible fine of £10,000 – and the threat of a criminal record if he didn't pay. 'I didn't take it seriously. I didn't think I'd done anything wrong, so I didn't pay. I thought that justice would prevail.' The fixed penalty notice (FPN) saddled Watts with 'crippling debt' but also the stigma of being a Covid rule-breaker. 'Certain friendship groups stopped speaking to me. I stopped going to lectures. My mental health was in a dire state. 'I'm not going to whine. I live in a first-world country with many privileges, but this fine derailed my life and made me hate the system.' Watts is one of the nearly 120,000 people to be issued FPNs for breaking lockdown rules in England and Wales during the pandemic. Almost half – 48pc – of these fines were issued to 18- to 24-year-olds, even though they account for just 8pc of the population. Between March 2020 and July 2021, there were three national lockdowns when attending gatherings, leaving home or failing to wear a face mask could all result in a fine or prosecution. Non-payment of an FPN is not in itself a criminal offence but if it remains unpaid, the person receiving it may be summoned to court for prosecution for the original offence. A defendant can then receive a criminal record if convicted. The Covid rules led to over 29,000 people being handed criminal convictions because they either contested or did not pay the fine. Among those to receive a criminal record were an 18-year-old student who attended a party during a lockdown, a 35-year-old man who hosted family members on New Year's Eve and a 72-year-old woman who travelled back from Kenya without evidence of a negative Covid test. Criminal convictions can prevent people from working as teachers, social workers or police officers, as the police can pass these details to prospective employers if they are deemed 'relevant' for criminal background checks. Convictions must also be declared when applying for visas to visit countries like the US and Canada, both of which reserve the right to permanently ban anyone who fails to reveal one. Ministry of Justice data shows that the 29,000 criminal fines issued by magistrates totalled £26m – more than for any other type of crime since the start of the pandemic, apart from motoring offences and TV licence evasion. A further £8.2m was paid by people who were handed FPNs. Watts refused to pay the fine for two and a half years despite repeated letters and threats of prosecution, in part out of principle, and because he hoped it might get rescinded. He eventually decided to settle in late 2023 after his debt was transferred to a debt collection agency and bailiffs started making regular visits to his home. As a result, he has avoided getting a criminal record. He chose to pay the fine in instalments, scraping the money together from bank loans and his work as a DJ and promoter. 'It was so stressful, so horrible,' he says. 'Financially, it's been crippling.' Covid fines 'sloppily drafted' Nearly five years on from the first national lockdown, there are still 114 outstanding 'coronavirus offence' cases making their way through the courts, according to the Government. In June, Robert Buckland, the former Tory justice secretary, called for an amnesty for those handed criminal convictions for breaking Covid rules. Lord Sumption, a former Supreme Court judge, said that criminalisation for rule breaches during the pandemic was 'ridiculous' and a 'miscarriage of justice'. Sir Keir Starmer has failed to back calls for an amnesty. Penelope Gibbs, director of the charity Transform Justice, believes the legislation granting police powers to issue Covid fines was 'sloppily drafted, rushed, and poorly scrutinised'. She adds: 'Some of the fines are incredibly high and difficult to pay. These penalties were disproportionate and a lot of people incurred them without being fully aware of the law. 'If you have vague legal wording and rules that keep changing suddenly, people interpret it in different ways – including the police.' Official data shows that some police forces were more inclined to issue fines than others. Almost half of the court-issued fines – worth £12.4m – were raised by just five forces: the Metropolitan Police, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Lancashire and South Wales. Behaviour could have been changed without a heavy-handed legal approach, according to Ms Gibbs. 'It was a misuse of the law.' The apparently arbitrary nature of the fines is another injustice that supporters of an amnesty point to. Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, who were then prime minister and chancellor, each received a £50 fixed penalty notice from the Metropolitan Police for attending a 'gathering' in Downing Street in June 2020. Both paid the fine and apologised, but rejected calls to resign. Four years after Watts was issued his fine, it's this hypocrisy that rankles most. 'The police took five minutes to decide to issue me with a £10,000 fine. And then Boris gets £50 and a slap on the wrist. 'It makes me feel a complete and utter loss of trust and hope in the system that I used to hold in high regard,' he says. 'I regret that I made that Facebook event, but I'm not ashamed of what I did.'
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Yahoo
Man fined £500 for fly-tipping after ‘wind blew cardboard out of bin'
Council officials fined a man £500 for fly-tipping after the wind blew a cardboard box out of his bin. Martin Fielder, 47, was handed a fixed penalty notice (FPN) and threatened with a criminal record if he did not pay the fine. However, when Mr Fielder, who became the full-time carer of his two children after giving up his job when his wife died, threatened to go to court, the fine was reduced to £100. Mr Fielder, from Welwyn Garden City, Herts, said that high winds and foxes pushing bins over could have caused the cardboard to get out. He had previously been told he could face up to 12 months in prison if he refused to pay District Enforcement – a private enforcement agency employed by Welwyn Hatfield borough council. 'The FPN stated that I was in breach of section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 – or the offence of fly-tipping – because a box with my address on had been found 80 metres from my house,' Mr Fielder told The Guardian. 'The letter stated that if the fine was not paid within 28 days the matter would be referred to the magistrates' court, where I could go to prison for up to 12 months or receive a bigger fine, or both.' He described the attempted prosecution as 'extortion', adding that no one would call one loose bit of rubbish fly-tipping. The former IT specialist, whose wife died six years ago of a terminal illness, said that he had been in a 'state of anxiety' during his interactions with the enforcement agency and council. He suggested to District Enforcement that the cardboard envelope may have ended up on the grass from strong winds the previous night. Mr Fielder also sent pictures of foxes by his knocked-over bins and evidence of parcels going missing as evidence, which they ignored. 'I gave them three strong reasons why they couldn't assume I had done anything wrong,' he said. The company changed the fine to a £100 littering offence, after he told District Enforcement he planned to take them to court. 'It feels very much like they have a standard process of issuing a big fine, and if you push back, they issue a smaller one instead,' he continued. 'It's tempting to pay because going to court risks an increased fine and a criminal record, but I don't want to capitulate. I haven't done anything wrong.' Josie Appleton, the convener of the Manifesto Club, a civil liberties group, said: 'These companies are stretching the law beyond any reasonable interpretation, to enable the issuing of penalties.' A spokesman for Welwyn Hatfield borough council told The Guardian: 'District Enforcement officers are trained to carry out enforcement in line with legal standards and the council's enforcement policy. 'Measures are in place to ensure a thorough review of disputed penalties. If a dispute remains unresolved, we will carefully assess the evidence before determining any further enforcement action.' District Enforcement was approached for comment.
Telegraph
14-02-2025
- Telegraph
Man fined £500 for ‘fly-tipping' after ‘wind blew cardboard out of bin'
Council officials fined a man £500 for fly-tipping after the wind blew a cardboard box out of his bin. Martin Fielder, 47, was handed a fixed penalty notice (FPN) and threatened with a criminal record if he did not pay the fine. However when Mr Fielder, who became the full-time carer of his two children after giving up his job when his wife died, threatened to go to court, the fine was reduced to £100. Mr Fielder, from Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, said high winds and foxes pushing bins over could have caused the cardboard to get out. He had previously been told he could face up to 12 months in prison if he refused to pay District Enforcement – a private enforcement agency employed by Welwyn Hatfield borough council. 'State of anxiety' 'The FPN stated that I was in breach of section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 – or the offence of fly-tipping – because a box with my address on had been found 80 metres from my house,' Mr Fielder told The Guardian newspaper. 'The letter stated that if the fine was not paid within 28 days the matter would be referred to the magistrates' court, where I could go to prison for up to 12 months or receive a bigger fine, or both.' He described the attempted prosecution as 'extortion', adding that no one would call one loose bit of rubbish fly-tipping. The former IT specialist, whose wife died six years ago of a terminal illness, said he had been in a 'state of anxiety' during his interactions with the enforcement agency and council. He suggested to District Enforcement that the cardboard envelope may have ended up on the grass from strong winds the previous night. 'Three strong reasons' Mr Fielder also sent pictures of foxes by his knocked-over bins and evidence of parcels going missing as evidence, which they ignored. 'I gave them three strong reasons why they couldn't assume I had done anything wrong,' he said. The company changed the fine to a £100 littering offence, after he told District Enforcement he planned to take them to court. 'It feels very much like they have a standard process of issuing a big fine, and if you push back, they issue a smaller one instead,' he continued. 'It's tempting to pay because going to court risks an increased fine and a criminal record, but I don't want to capitulate. I haven't done anything wrong.' 'Stretching the law' Josie Appleton, the convener of the Manifesto Club, a civil liberties group, said: 'These companies are stretching the law beyond any reasonable interpretation, to enable the issuing of penalties.' A spokesman for Welwyn Hatfield borough council told The Guardian: ' District Enforcement officers are trained to carry out enforcement in line with legal standards and the council's enforcement policy. 'Measures are in place to ensure a thorough review of disputed penalties. If a dispute remains unresolved, we will carefully assess the evidence before determining any further enforcement action.'
