Non-smoker fined £433 for littering in Manchester

A non-smoker has been wrongly convicted of littering after Manchester city council accused him of dropping a cigarette butt in the city centre – even though he was hundreds of miles away arranging a family funeral at the time.

Steve Jones, 53, a teacher from Teddington, Greater London, said he has only visited Manchester three times in his life and does not smoke. Despite telling the council it was a case of mistaken identity, the case proceeded without him and he later received a collection order demanding £433 in fines and costs.

In July, Jones received a pack of evidence from the council, including a letter stating: “You have been charged with an offence of dropping litter,” alongside a single justice procedure notice dated March. Also enclosed was a fixed-penalty notice of £150 for allegedly discarding litter outside the H&M store on Market Street on 14 December last year. It warned that the fine could rise to £2,500 if prosecuted in court.

The notice gave Jones 21 days to respond, but said the case could go ahead in his absence if he failed to do so. Jones insists this was impossible: “My father-in-law died on 13 December and I was in Maidstone at a funeral directors the following day.”

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Further errors added to the confusion. The fixed-penalty notice listed an address in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, and while the date of birth matched Jones’s birthday, it was recorded as 10 years later. “The description even said I had ‘hat hair’. I don’t know what that means, and I keep my hair shaved short because I don’t have much of it left,” he said.

Jones contacted the council immediately, and after a long exchange of emails, officials eventually checked the camera footage and accepted that he was not the offender. He was sent an apology for what was described as an “administrative error” and believed the matter resolved.

But in late August, Jones received another letter stating he had nevertheless been convicted and fined. “I just find it incredible that I’ve been convicted in my absence,” he said. “I’ve never been convicted of anything before, so it feels really heavy.”

He worries about the broader implications: “If this happened to someone elderly or vulnerable, it could be really stressful and damaging.”

Initially, Jones described his reaction as “annoyance” but said he is now “deeply frustrated” that the prosecution went ahead despite the council acknowledging the mistake.

Manchester city council said in a statement: “The council is now doing everything possible to have the conviction set aside at the earliest opportunity to prevent any enforcement action against Mr Jones. We apologise unreservedly for the distress and inconvenience this has caused.”