The Metropolitan Police arrested a woman after she refused to stop feeding pigeons.
The incident took place after the woman in her 40s broke a council rule against the âfeeding of birds and verminâ.
Local enforcement officers from Harrow council, north London, stopped the woman on the high street on Wednesday afternoon and tried to give her a fixed penalty notice.
But the council said that she ârefused to provide [her] details, which is an offence, and also refused to stop feeding pigeons when asked to do soâ.
The woman was then arrested by police officers after she ârepeatedly refused to provide her personal detailsâ.
It is forbidden to give food to birds under the councilâs âpublic spaces protection orderâ rules.
A breach of the rules is a criminal offence and can land people with a fixed penalty notice of ÂŁ100 or prosecution and a fine of up to ÂŁ1,000.
Footage shows the woman appearing visibly distressed as she was being held and questioned by a group of police officers and council enforcement officers.
Police could also be seen searching the womanâs pockets and confiscating her possessions, which were later returned.
Multiple passers-by stopped and expressed their confusion over why the woman was being stopped.
One onlooker can be heard in the footage saying: âFor feeding the pigeons? This is ridiculous! You could have just told the lady not to do that and let her go on with her business.â
The council has faced a backlash for introducing the measures.
After the local authority threatened to fine residents who fed ducks in the local Pinner Memorial Park in 2023, âconcernedâ Harrow residents warned that it would destroy a pastime that provided âsimple joyâ to families.
But Paul Osborne, the council leader, claimed at the time that ducks were âprobably being killedâ by people feeding them.
He said: âWhilst you may have fond memories of it, you are probably actually killing some of the ducks.â
Public space protection orders were introduced under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act of 2014.
They expanded discretionary powers to deal with problems deemed to harm local communities. These powers are typically left to council officers to enforce, although police can become involved if individuals refuse to comply.
A Harrow council spokesman told The Telegraph: âThere was a breach of the Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) relating to bird feeding. The individual refused to provide their details, which is an offence, and also refused to stop feeding pigeons when asked to do so.
âOur PSPO is in place to help keep our streets clean and safe for everyone and anyone found breaching these faces a ÂŁ100 fixed penalty notice.â
A Met Police spokesman said: âAt around 14:30hrs on Wednesday Jan 7, officers were approached by local council enforcement officers dealing with an anti-social behaviour incident on Wealdstone High Street, Harrow.
âA woman, in her 40s, was repeatedly asked to provide her name and address so that a fixed penalty notice could be issued.
âAfter speaking with officers for around 20 minutes, she repeatedly refused to provide her personal details. She was arrested on suspicion of breaching Section 50 of the Police Reform Act, which requires people to provide their name and address when requested to do so by the police.
âHer details were later obtained, and she was de-arrested and dealt with by council officers.â
