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Home » How to lose weight safely » Woman trying to lose weight fed potatoes in salad to pigeons and got 150 fine – Manchester Evening News

A woman trying to be healthy by eating a salad was fined after feeding the chunks of potato from it to pigeons in Piccadilly Gardens.

Ruth Bradshaw, a litter picker in Gatley, said the birds polished off every last morsel of the carb-rich root vegetable.

She has been left angered by the fine, saying all birds 'have a right to live on this planet.'

The 61-year-old had just been for a haircut on Lever Street and had wandered over to Piccadilly Gardens to eat the salad from Nibbles cafe.

The incident happened in August - the first time the career coach had ventured into town from her Stockport home for months.

"Being aware of keeping my distance from others, I found a spot with space around it and sat down on a wall to eat my salad", she recalled.

"As I had put on weight during lockdown, I have been trying hard to lose some weight and so did not want to eat the potatoes in my salad.

"As a lover of wildlife and a member of the Green Party, I decided to give the small amount of potato to the pigeons, which were numerous in the gardens, some looking much healthier than others.

"I gave them tiny pieces which they hungrily devoured", she said.

But to her shock, two enforcement officers approached her and 'reeled off a speech'.

Ruth was so startled that she only heard the word 'litter'.

She claimed: "Their manner was aggressive and unpleasant. I could not really believe what was happening.

"Neither could the people who were sitting on the same ledge as me. They aggressively demanded all my personal details and made gestures towards signs about not feeding the pigeons.

"Rather stupidly, I told the truth and gave them my details.

"I think they also said that if I re-offended, I could have a criminal record.

"They then produced a ticket which said I committed an offence: Litter-food waste.

"The charge on the ticket was 150", she said.

Ruth said she found the encounter shocking, particularly as she is so passionate about the environment and would never drop rubbish.

She is part of a local litter picking group, has her own litter picker, and even has signs printed at her own expense warning people to not litter in Gatley.

"I have looked up the definition of littering. What I did did not constitute littering.

"I always feed the pigeons. Birds of all variety have a right to live on this planet."

Ruth, who has not paid the fine, said she feels angry and upset.

She has written to both Andy Burnham and Sir Richard Leese about the incident as she feels so strongly about the issue.

It's the third time in a handful of months that the Manchester Evening News has written about pigeon feeding fines being handed out in Piccadilly Gardens.

Leonie Ormsby told the Manchester Evening News how she was fined after a pigeon gobbled up her tuna baguette end in 'one peck' at the same location.

Meanwhile Kerris Fenn, 22, was slapped with a hefty bill after feeding part of her vegan sausage roll to the birds.

Executive Member for Neighbourhoods at Manchester City Council, Coun Rabnawaz Akbar, said: "Throwing food on the floor is littering and as residents and visitors want to see a clean, hygienic city centre which is free of waste, we will not turn a blind eye to these offences.

"Pigeon droppings can behazardous to people and can spread potentially fatal diseases, as well as being unsightly and corrosive to buildings and monuments. Not all of the food offered to pigeonswill be eaten and any surplus which is left on the ground could attract other creatures to the area, such as rats.

"Providing food forpigeonsin areas like Piccadilly Gardens causes them to congregate in unnatural numbers, which can cause avian diseases to spread rapidly among the flock, as individual birds compete for the food on offer.

"Dropping your leftovers is bad for the local environment, can be bad for the birds and could also be bad for your wallet, if youre caught in the act of littering.Its great that many people enjoy being close to thepigeonswhen they visit the city centre - but please, dont feed them."

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Woman trying to lose weight fed potatoes in salad to pigeons and got 150 fine - Manchester Evening News

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Home » How to lose weight safely » Woman trying to lose weight fed potatoes in salad to pigeons and got 150 fine – Manchester Evening News