Council apology over pensioners' charity bag fines

Two women who were fined after donating to charity have had their fixed penalty notices dropped.

Barbara Wheeler said she received a letter from a council threatening legal action and a fine of up to £1,000 after leaving a bag of clothes outside her home in Tonbridge, Kent, for a charity to collect.

Wheeler said her 84-year-old neighbour Margaret was also sent a letter from the local authority ordering her to pay a fixed penalty notice of £300 within 14 days as "depositing litter is a criminal offence".

But now Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council said the fines had been rescinded because it was "clear that these kerbside charity collections should not have resulted in action".