Pensioner Threatened With Fine For Feeding The Birds

When snow descended on the country earlier this month, Pam Todd was more determined than ever to make sure there was plenty of food available for the local birds.

The keen twitcher braved the elements to spread a few handfuls of bird seed in her back garden and on the front communal lawn outside her bungalow, as she has done for the last 20 years.

But the wildlife-loving pensioner has suddenly been told to stop her favourite pastime - or run the risk of a £2,500 fine and court conviction.

Milton Keynes Council claimed in a letter that by feeding the birds, Mrs Todd, who suffers from severe arthritis, is guilty of littering and can face punishment under 'clean neighbourhood' legislation within the Environmental Protection Act.

Read more...

Brew As You Are Told... Or How The Tea Bag Task Force is Targeting Your Office Kettle

We've had the bin police - now meet the tea bag tyrants.

In the latest initiative designed to make us more environmentally friendly, Government advisers are calling on businesses to appoint tea monitors to make sure staff don't overfill the kettle at work.

The quango Envirowise is also telling workers to use teapots when making rounds of hot drinks and is calling for a return of old-fashioned tea urns.

Read more...

Burly binmen refuse to take away bags of grass cuttings... because they're too heavy

So 7 stone householder does it herself

She is 5ft 5in and only seven stone, but Mia Cousins had no problem carrying bags of grass cuttings 50 yards from her garden to the roadside ready for disposal.
The same did not apply, however, to the four burly binmen on the council's 'green' collection run.
The three loaders and a driver left a note on the recycling sacks saying they had not been moved because they were too heavy. The council at Fareham, Hampshire, has defended its binmen claiming they were acting within their rights under Health and Safety Executive rules on ' excessive manual handling risks'.

Read more...

Iraq war veteran thrown off train after ticket row as conductor tells him: 'It's not as if you've taken a bullet'

A soldier returning from Iraq in full combat uniform was thrown off a train after a ticket inspector demanded proof he was eligible for an Armed Forces discount.
Rifleman Zachary Hoyland, 19, had been unable to pick up his Services railcard from barracks and was told the cheaper ticket he had been bought was not valid without it.
But the official refused to show any leniency, instead telling him: 'I don't know what you are complaining about.
'It's not as if you've taken a bullet or anything.'
With the help of a friendly passenger, Rifleman Hoyland had already managed to find the extra £50.50 he needed to pay the full fare.
But he was understandably outraged by the 'bullet' remark and swore at the ticket inspector - who, to the disbelief of other passengers, ordered him off the train at the next station.

Read more...