Grandmother fined £60 for littering because she was letting her six-year-old granddaughter feed squirrels bits of cake

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A grandmother was left furious after she was fined £60 because her one-year-old granddaughter fed cake to squirrels in a churchyard.

Sandra Spearing was with her daughter Emma-Louise and granddaughter Lacey, waiting for a taxi to arrive in Sittingbourne, Kent yesterday.

After giving Lacey some Christmas cake she'd bought in Iceland, she encouraged the toddler to throw it to two squirrels they had seen rather than putting it in the bin if she didn't want it.

But a local rubbish officer saw the incident and issued Ms Spearing's daughter with an on-the-spot fine of £60, which the grandmother decided to take on herself.

Fined: Sandra Spearing, left, was told to pay £60 when her granddaughter Lacey, centre, fed some cake to squirrels during a day out with daughter Emma-Louise, right

'I said to throw them the cake instead of wasting it,' she said.

'The next moment an enforcement officer came over and said, "What have you just thrown?"

'My daughter said it was cake for the squirrels and he said, "I am going to have to fine you."

'The man saw the squirrels eating the cake. He said it was all on camera. I said, "Good, I'm appealing against it."'

The standard fixed penalty notice of £60 was issued by Swale Borough Council.

Treat: But the local council claimed feeding squirrels was a health risk (file photo)

Ms Spearing, 45, from Milton in Kent, said: 'What would have happened if my granddaughter had dropped a crisp? Would we have been fined for that?

'A crisp packet fair enough, I teach the kids to throw that in the bin, but it was cake we threw to the squirrels.

'I can laugh now but I was annoyed at the time. I'm definitely not paying it, I'm not paying £60 for feeding squirrels Christmas cake.'

A spokesman for the council insisted that the anti-littering scheme was necessary to tackle genuine concerns, and warned that feeding wild animals can encourage rats.

He added: said: 'We need to investigate this claim to establish the facts and will speak to the enforcement officer to get their account of the events.

'We don't encourage people to feed animals as it can encourage pests such as rats, which can transmit disease and cause damage to homes and businesses.'