Litterer faces court 11 years later
After more than a decade a lady from Stockport has been taken to court for littering.
Grace Firth, currently 32, dropped her paper bag, formerly used to house a Greggs delicasy, in August 2009. In December 2020 she received a letter informing her that she was being summoned before the courts over a "historical debt".
She subsequently appeared at court to be informed that she had committed a littering offence in August 2009 and as a consequence was expected to pay £370 in fines and costs.
Upon the initial listing of the case it has been suggested that officers of the Stockport Magistrates Court sought clarification as to whether the case was eligible to be heard.
Miss Firth, also from Stockport, was originally prosecuted, 11 years ago, over claims that she'd thrown a Greggs bakery paper bag on the ground, rather than in a bin.
The young female failed to appear at the initial hearing and she was convicted in her absence. As such she was fined £175 and ordered to pay costs of £180 plus a further £15 victim surcharge.
By return Miss Firth insisted she had not been informed about the original case and was consequently unaware of the conviction and sentence. Prosecutors claim they had sent letters demanding payment of the fine to her mother's address.
In her defence she said, "Any mail for me was returned to sender or thrown away."
Authorities tracked down Miss Firth in December 2019 after correspondance was forwarded to her new home. The court accepted that she had been unaware of the conviction, and decided to cancel the original £180 costs order against her.
Additionally the court reduced her fine to £40, but stated that she would still have to pay the victim surcharge.
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Rochdale,
Lancashire,
OL16 2EN
0800 8101010