An 80-year-old grandmother has been left in 'floods of tears' after she was fined £50 by Sefton Council because her dog lead was 'too long' for the area where she was walking her pet.

Worse still, she says she has been threatened that if she doesn't pay up pronto she may face a £2,500 fine and a criminal record.

Maureen Sanders, 80, was walking her rescue dog Soren around Bootle Cemetery this Friday morning when two NSL 'enforcment officers' stopped her. The Council agents told Maureen that her dog lead was 'too long': it needed to be less than two metres if she wanted to walk her dog in that area. Instead of maybe issuing her with a warning or explaining the rules, the officers slapped her with an immediate £50 fine for breaking the by-law.

The signs outside the cemetery state that dogs should be kept on a 'short lead' but do not specify any maximum length for the lead. It appears that the Council's enforcers are making it up as they go along. Signs do state that the cemetary area should not be used for dog walking at all, however, this area has been used regularly over decades by many animal owners.

Maureen rescued her beloved dog Soren from Romania three years ago, where he was being used for dog fights. She said: " I've had him about three years. He's a friendly dog but he can get quite frightened because he had a bad time in Romania. While the rescue dog is friendly and well-behaved, Maureen said he can get quite frightened of other dogs, which is why she has to keep him on a lead at all times.

"I had no idea it was a rule." said Maureen.

"My daughters rang the One Stop Shop when I had to pay the fine and the staff in there said they had never heard of it.

"What upset me was if you don't have it paid up in a fortnight they said you would be fined £2,500 and I would have a criminal record.

"I cried all night because I was so, so upset."

Maureen's daughters have offered to help her pay the £50 fine so the money doesn't come out of her pension - but battling Maureen says that she is refusing to pay the fine on principle.

She says: "I don't have a computer or anything - I wouldn't know the by-laws or anything. I've always been very respectful in the cemetery. I always have the dog on a lead and a lot of people don't do that!"

Maureen's daughter Maggie said her mother is a responsible dog owner who 'always carries poo bags "and cleans up after her dog without fail. She found her mother in "floods of tears" after being handed the fine on her morning dog walk. She explains that Maureen is waiting for a hip replacement and needs to use a longer lead to walk Soren because she has difficulty walking.

"Mum does not have that sort of money to pay for walking her dog under control on a lead as she has done every day for years."

'My sister and I offered to pay but mum is adamant that as she was not doing anything wrong by walking her dog on a lead in the rear part of the cemetery away from the graves, early in the morning in the only green space close to her flat. She is not going to pay."

NSL, formerly known as NCP, is responsible for enforcing fixed penalty notices (FPNs) on by-laws for Sefton Council. But neither Sefton Council and NSL who have been contacted by national newspapers keen to understad the persecution of granny Maureen responded.

Maggie said her mum was told that there are signs outside the cemetery warning of the by-laws but that she couldn't see them due to her poor eyesight.

Probably had the ticket issued because of an obnoxious attitude, those long extendable should be banned they are dangerous.

Sounds to me like some jobsworth not using his or her initiative. Yes there are rules but for goodness sake was this really necessary?

As for extending leads being dangerous, under what circumstances? They allow dogs that can't run free to be given a bit of exercise.

She needs a caravan and park it anywhere she likes, empty her chemical toilet and dump rubbish she'd get away with that but a dog lead that is too long £50? someone needs a good talking to. If I were her I'd be on to the National Press pronto. How many Council Tenants not paying rent? How many Sefton Residents not paying Council Tax ? Kids causing havoc around Town every night ? And her dog lead is too long what a BL**DY SH*TE COUNTRY this has become.

Originally Posted by Alikado

Probably had the ticket issued because of an obnoxious attitude, those long extendable should be banned they are dangerous.

Probably?
And using the laws of probability, I’d say your probably a complete a/hole.

Like most on here don't know the full circumstances of this, certainly does sound like easy pickings for the "enforcement" officers, but would agree on the extending dog leads being a nuisance, having said that, one dozy dog walker gave me a chuckle the other day, dog walker immersed on phone, dog wandered to a tree, walked round it before trying to return, large dog took owner off roading in unsuitable footwear, I didn't laugh, (well not too much)

It should be compulsory for long leads to be in ‘neon’ colours as they can be dangerous trip wires,particularly when owners are not paying attention to their dog.
A good example is people wandering along Lord Street looking in shops etc. When there are lots of shoppers about.

Originally Posted by roving-eye

Signs do state that the cemetary area should not be used for dog walking at all,

Open and shut case. Nothing further to see here, move on.

This case made BBC North West News tonight, the council have rescinded the notice and fine under the circumstances, although state the notice was issued correctly.

Originally Posted by salus.populi

Open and shut case. Nothing further to see here, move on.

Well in fact the Council employees appear to have been oblivious to the 'no dogs' policy, so it's hardly surprising that a dog owner was also unaware of it:
"The Council agents told Maureen that her dog lead was 'too long': it needed to be less than two metres if she wanted to walk her dog in that area."

Originally Posted by Starling

Well in fact the Council employees appear to have been oblivious to the 'no dogs' policy, so it's hardly surprising that a dog owner was also unaware of it:
"The Council agents told Maureen that her dog lead was 'too long': it needed to be less than two metres if she wanted to walk her dog in that area."

They are not Council employees they are employees of a private company used by Sefton Council as enforcement officers.
As a private company they make a proportion of their money from fixed penalty notices and therefore their officers are not encouraged to give warnings.