Pensioner faces £75 fine for dropping someone else's litter

She bent down to pick it up but, realising it was actually a till receipt, the grandmother dropped it again.

However, a council street warden saw her do so - and gave her a £75 fine for littering.

Mrs Molyneux, 75, of Anfield, Liverpool, was walking near her home when she thought she saw the money.

Her daughter Jackie Davies, 39, explained that the streets were strewn with rubbish because Liverpool FC had played at Anfield the previous day.

She said: "Mum saw a bit of paper on the floor which she thought was the money, but when she bent down she realised it was an old Asda receipt.

"She put it back down and the street warden came over to her and gave her the fine. She tried to tell them it was not her litter and they asked why she didn't pick it up and take it home with her.

"But who picks up someone else's dirty litter to take home?"

Mrs Davies, a chef, said her mother would have been happy to pay the fine had she dropped the litter.

"Mum is absolutely devastated," she said. "She has never been in trouble in her life and she didn't bring us up to drop litter.

"We are all for the wardens because they do a great job.

"But there are always kids around there dropping chip papers on the floor.

"I can't believe they would pick on someone for this."

Mrs Molyneux, a former school dinner lady, lives off her pension. If she does not pay the fine within 14 days, she could be liable for one of £2,500 and a criminal record.

A spokesman for Liverpool city council, said: "The council is committed to doing all it can to keep Liverpool clean.

"Our wardens are highly-trained professionals and they issue penalty notices only when they believe they have witnessed an offence.

"There is an appeals process if people believe there are mitigatingcircumstances."

Fines for littering can be handed out under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005.

A spokesman for the Local Government Association said: "The law is clear, anybody dropping litter can be issued with a fixedpenalty notice."

An 11-year-old boy was sent a £50 fine in 2005 after an envelope with his name and address was found about half a mile from his home.

Council officials later issued a grovelling apology to Jake Lannon's family after admitting that the envelope had been lying 100 yards from a municipal tip in Gorton, Manchester.