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11 months ago
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Council chiefs have refused to back down after threatening to fine a 97-year-old woman if she doesn't stop feeding birds in her garden – and warned today that she could risk committing a 'criminal offence'.
Retired music teacher Anne Seago and her son Alan, 77, received a letter warning her to cease the 'anti-social behaviour' or officials would make her subject of a Community Protection Notice (CPN) and a £100 fine.
Failure to comply with a CPN – similar to an anti-social behaviour order – risks criminal prosecution.
The same warning was sent to the widow's near neighbours Ian Wright, 67, and his wife Kath, 66, by Fylde Council in Lancashire.
A council spokesman today said: 'If (the anti-social behaviour) continues, the council could consider serving a Community Protection Notice (CPN).
Retired music teacher Anne Seago (pictured) says she can't even bring herself to look out of the windows of her conservatory to watch the sparrows and robins
'Before issuing a CPN the local authority would have to be satisfied that that the conduct is having a detrimental effect on the quality of life of those in the locality, is unreasonable, and is persistent.
'Failure to comply with a CPN is a criminal offence. The council has acted in response to complaints from other residents in the neighbourhood.'
Breaches of CPN can lead to a maximum punishment of five years' imprisonment and an unlimited fine.
Frail Mrs Seago, who has lived at her home in Staining, near Blackpool, Lancs, since it was built in 1982, says one of her pleasures in life is sitting in her conservatory and watching sparrows and robins eat seeds on her bird table.
Her son, who has stopped feeding the birds, branded the council's letter 'menacing' and fears the stress of the situation could 'finish her off'.
But this morning Fylde Council insisted it was acting correctly and that 'hundreds' of birds had been seen around the Seagos' and Wrights' home and roosting in the area – which Mr Seago branded 'rubbish'.
The council said it has received complaints from four people about 'alleged excessive bird feeding' since 2016.
The authority insisted its officers had visited the street and seen 'hundreds of pigeons in proximity to these properties, mostly on roof tops, with large amounts of food provide for them'.
Anne was sent a threatening letter by her local council which said it would fine her if she continued to feed her birds
Anne lives with her son, retired car salesman Alan (pictured with his mother), 77, who fears the battle with Fylde Council could put his mother's life at risk
It added: 'This has led to the accumulation of bird feed, which has the potential to attract vermin and spread disease, and the build-up of bird faeces, which can cause nuisance and damage to property.'
Pigeons in the area are believed to have originated from a flock whose owner moved to Spain and abandoned them.
Mr Seago said today: 'I don't believe the council's claim. At the most there's been 50 or 60 pigeons but normally there's a couple of dozen at most. They don't nest round here.
'There's all sorts of birds who come to feed. There's even a heron knocking about. And we have no pigeon muck on our property which there would be if there were so many.
'I presume the council is thinking that if we stop feeding the pigeons they will go away but they've been here since the 1980s.
Fylde Council, run by chief executive Allan Oldfield (pictured), who earns up to £93,699-a-year from taxpayers, is accused of 'bullying and victimising' the pensioner
Residents supportive of Mrs Seago say the council is 'bullying and victimising' her
'I don't want them to be culled – they have a right to be here.'
Mr Seago said he is baffled by the claim about bird feed accumulating because 'when I put it out, it's gone in seconds'.
He added that he has not put food out for three weeks since the letter threatening the fine arrived in the post.
A Fylde Council spokesman said: 'Fylde Council have been in receipt of complaints regarding alleged excessive bird feeding at two properties in Staining since 2016, from four different complainants, including from properties on different streets.
'Informal letters had been sent by Fylde Council in the past informing the occupants of these two properties that complaints had been received.
'Officers visited the properties on numerous occasions, most recently in 2023 and reported witnessing hundreds of pigeons in proximity to these properties, mostly on roof tops, with large amounts of food provided for them.
'This has led to the accumulation of bird feed, which has the potential to attract vermin and spread disease, and the build-up of bird faeces, which can cause nuisance and damage to property.'
The spokesman added: 'The Council issued Community Protection Warning (CPW) letters on 10 November 2023 to the occupants of the two properties, advising that the Council could consider issuing them with a Community Protection Notice (CPN) if the antisocial behaviour continues.
'The act of 'putting out food for the purpose of attracting wild birds to feed', in such a large amount on a regular basis has a detrimental effect on neighbouring residents, 'birds roosting and defaecating is a public health nuisance and has the potential to cause disease.'
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