A woman has been left furious after receiving a £120 fine from Manchester City Council for feeding pigeons in Piccadilly Gardens last Sunday.
Kerris Fenn, a 22-year-old customer support executive from Cardiff who was visiting her brother in Manchester for the weekend, was handed the fine under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 for “littering, namely food waste” after feeding pigeons part of the Greggs Vegan Sausage Roll she was eating.
Speaking to the MEN, Kerris explained that she had had ripped the end of the pastry into “tiny pieces” to feed a small group of birds as she thought they looked “quite sweet”, but was left shocked when enforcement officers from 3GS – on behalf of the council – handed her a £150 fine, which would be reduced to £120 if paid it within ten days.
Manchester City Council has defended the fine stating that “feeding the pigeons is littering, plain and simple”.
Explaining the chain of events from Sunday 26th July, Kerris said: “I was sat in Piccadilly Gardens [and] I had walked over from the Arndale Centre. I was eating a Greggs Sausage Roll. It was less than a mouthful left [and the pigeons] had gathered around [which] I thought it was quite sweet.”
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“I just really like animals, I’m a vegan”.
“I ripped [the sausage roll] into tiny pieces [and] I tried feeding the crumbs to them. It was just a small group, not flocks and flocks,” she said.
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Enforcement officers then came over and “demanded her ID”.
She continued: “They charged me £120 for littering [but] it would have been more than £150 if I left it more than 10 days. It’s outrageous. It’s crazy to treat me the same as someone who throws litter on the floor. I contacted the council and explained ‘this is crazy’ [and] said ‘if you told me, I would have stopped’. I was shocked.”
“It’s the most expensive lunch ever.”
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“I’m not going back [to Piccadilly Gardens], definitely not. I can’t believe it. I’m still angry about it. It’s upsetting how shocking it was, and how embarrassing it was in front of so many people”.
Addressing the charge, Councillor Rabnawaz Akbar – Executive Member for Neighbourhoods at Manchester City Council – said: “Feeding the pigeons is littering, plain and simple. Clear signs are in place in Piccadilly Gardens to advertise this fact [and] while we take no pleasure in handing out Fixed Penalty Notices to offenders, it’s extremely important that people understand that they should not be feeding the birds in this way.”
“Illegally dropping food for the pigeons is bad for the local environment and can also be harmful to the birds, as many items intended for human consumption are not suitable for them to eat.”
Kerris confirmed that she tried to appeal, but said that Manchester City Council stated she “would have to wait until my case proceeds to court”.
She chose to pay the £120 fine in order to prevent it from increasing.
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Manchester firefighter surprises partner with proposal during new recruits parade
Danny Jones
We’re a sucker for a wholesome little video as we know you are, which is exactly why we thought of you lot when we came across this video of a newly graduated Manchester firefighter surprising his partner with a heartwarming proposal.
Just the kind of heartwarming that usually sets us off after a long week at work.
The clip shared by Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) on Thursday, 25 April, shows Manc fireman James popping the question to his girlfriend sat unassumingly in the audience at a recent passing out ceremony.
Pass out ceremonies are when trainees go from recruits to fully qualified firefighters after completing their intensive operational training. It’s a long-standing tradition in the emergency services where friends and family gather to celebrate their achievements – it’s almost like it’s the perfect opportunity…
As you can see, since the graduates are usually the centre of attention, James couldn’t help but size his moment and instead of walking and lining up normally like everyone else, he decided to head straight over to his wife-to-be and get down on one knee.
You already know the rest.
Welling up immediately and barely able to remove her hands from her face, Melissa nods and says yes as the crowd cheers and the pair share a smooch.
Writing on social media, the GMFRS said: “We managed to capture a VERY special moment at our new recruits pass out parade today… Congratulations to James and Melissa!”, adding, “Certainly one way to start your new career”.
If we don’t see all the groomsmen dressed as firefighters on a random viral video sometime soon we’re going to be gutted.
All the best to the happy couple and if you’ve got any more lovely clips like this to send in so we can make ourselves cry (in a good way), you know what to do.
Featured Images — Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service
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The Chestergate pub in Stockport is at it again with some of the most wonderfully Manc scenes you’ll ever see
Danny Jones
The legendary Chestergate pub in Stockport is back with another belter of a video, following on from their viral belly-flashing clip of 2022.
The Mersey Square boozer has painted yet another quintessentially Northern depiction of UK pub culture with the latest Manc scenes they’ve captured around the karaoke machine.
If you’ve never had the pleasure of stumbling into The Chestergate in Stockport town centre, the long-standing boozer currently operated by publican chain Blind Tiger Inns, you’re seriously missing out.
While it might not be the flashiest of pubs, when it comes to entertainment, it always delivers.
Whether it’s stunts like renaming themselves ‘The Southgate’ whenever the Euros or World Cup rolls around, or the locals just genuinely having a whale of a time no matter what day of the week it is, it really sums up the best of pub culture.
The Chestergate went viral for some of the most British footage ever caught on film back in 2022 and the videos saw a huge wave of love and support flooding in for the pub, as well as a healthy amount of chuckles. Safe to say we were chuffed to see them pop back up on our feed again recently.
Karaoke night at The Chestergate literally never disappoints.
Forget ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ or ‘Champagne Supernova’ for karaoke songs – we’ll take a cacophony of inaudible throwback pop music, whilst another bloke and his hype man try and MC over a totally ill-fitting beat any day of the week.
And that’s handy because you’ll find those kinds of shenanigans happening at this place all the time.
It’s simultaneously one of the most no-nonsense and somehow a non-stop shenanigan-filled paradise. They also look after their own and consider their regulars part of the family. Case and point: they threw their very own ‘Dancing Queen’ Molly a big bash for her 86th birthday and it’s such wholesome viewing.
At this point, it’s worth flagging that we have nothing but envy for these folks and anyone who’s just out there having the time of their lives on any random weeknight.
Yes, it produced plenty of laughs for those watching online in recent times but this lot won’t mind one bit – not only is the pub seeing more and more new faces through the door but that’s the whole point of a pub, isn’t it? Going for a pint with your nearest and dearest and having a laugh.
Not only is it very Manchester but it’s Britain at its very best.
We hope to see you at The Chestergate pub in Stockport for a pint or two sometime soon and we’re making a bit of a prat of ourselves, don’t worry, we’re sure they’ll have the cameras ready for you.