A student has been slapped with a £150 ticket after being caught feeding the pigeons a piece of his tortilla wrap in Piccadilly Gardens.
25-year-old Rishi Prem, who only moved to the UK in February, told the MEN he was unaware of the law and did not know he was technically littering when he handed a piece of his meal to the birds.
But an environmental enforcement officer explained that it was not permitted and immediately issued a fine for £150.
Mr Prem told the MEN: “[The officer] was watching me from the moment I sat down and started eating, and he saw the birds coming towards me so he could have warned me. But there was no warning – it was like he was just waiting for that moment.
“I have only been here four or five months, I have no knowledge of the laws and did not know that it was a crime. And there were no signs around saying that.
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“In my country it is common. It is usual to feed other living things. It is just a natural human action.”
“I felt sympathy for [the pigeon] as it looked so hungry,” Mr Prem added.
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Pigeons congregate in Piccadilly Gardens / Image: Kristina via Flickr
There have been multiple instances of people being issued with penalties for feeding wildlife in Manchester city centre.
Last summer, a woman was handed a £120 fine for sharing her Greggs sausage roll with the Piccadilly Gardens pigeons.
A litter-picker was also given a £150 ticket for giving the birds some potatoes.
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Manchester Council have emphasised fines are in place to deter people from feeding animals as the habit is “bad for the local environment and can also be harmful to the birds”.
The council says it will continue to issue fines to anyone caught feeding pigeons in Picc Gardens / Image: Pxfuel
Executive Member for Neighbourhoods Rabnawaz Akbar said the council would continue to issue fines for these offences.
“Our residents have told us that they want to enjoy a clean, hygienic city centre and we won’t tolerate this behaviour,” he stated.
“There are signs in and around Piccadilly Gardens, where this issue is more prevalent, to let people know that feeding pigeons is not allowed.”
Featured image: Wikimedia Commons
Manchester
Top Northern Quarter vintage shop Gone Fishing is closing – with one final, massive sale
Daisy Jackson
Gone Fishing Vintage, one of the Northern Quarter’s top vintage shops, is closing for good after one final weekend in Manchester.
The popular shop will be going out with an almighty sale, offering 50% off everything in store on 10 and 11 January.
Gone Fishing has carved out a niche thanks to its menswear-focused, curated range of second hand fashion, often sourced from Italy.
You’ll always find a quality selection of brands including Stone Island, CP Company, Burberry, and Moschino.
And it’s caught plenty of eyes during its time on Oldham Street – just last year, Drake popped into Gone Fishing to buy himself a vest.
But now owner Seb Dixon has confirmed he’s closing down the shop – and soon.
He said it’s been a ‘f***ing tough decision’ but Gone Fishing has ‘outgrown the space’.
In a video shared to Instagram, he announced an ‘everything-must-go’ sale with half-price clothes this weekend, kicking off from 11am on Saturday 10 January.
Seb said: “Quick announcement – I’m closing down the shop. This might come as a bit of a surprise to you, but unfortunately it’s true.
“After doing this for so many years, it’s been a f***ing tough decision.
“So I started it as a passion project and it’s not the fact that I don’t have passion for it anymore or have fallen out of love with it or you guys. I just want to take it in a slightly different direction.
“I just feel like we’ve outgrown the space a little bit and how creative we can get in there, and creativity was the main reason why I started the business.
“So this weekend is our final weekend in the shop and we need to get rid of everything. So we’re doing 50% off all items.
“I reckon it’s gonna be a little big mad – we’ll open at 11 but I’d say get there a little bit earlier.
“I just want to say thank you to everyone who shopped with us, supported us over the last few years. Especially the customers, we wouldn’t be here without you.
“Stay tuned as we release our new location where you can shop with us. Until then, see you on Saturday.”
A new design-led hostel with rooms from £41 has opened in the Northern Quarter
Daisy Jackson
A new hostel has launched in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, with rooms starting from just £41.
The staggeringly affordable new accommodation comes from Malacuna, which already has similar sites across Spain and Portugal.
The European brand has now taken over a prime building in the Northern Quarter, just off Stevenson Square, which used to be home to Hatters Hostel.
The Hilton Street hostel features 37 rooms and 132 beds, from private rooms to shared dorms with four, six or eight beds.
These spaces at Malacuna are promising ‘design-led accommodation that doesn’t compromise on style, location or social atmosphere’.
With Manchester now attracting 2.6 million overnight visitors annually, demand for accommodation is surging – especially around major events such as Parklife festival, gigs at Co-op Live and the AO Arena, and football.
And now visitors will finally have somewhere to stay that won’t break the bank, with beds from £41 per night in one of the most sought-after corners of Manchester.
Malacuna is set directly above Wilson’s, a 200-capacity bar and restaurant, and is open now.
The Manc -
16th July 2021 
