Greggs customer who dropped paper bag after eating snack is hauled to court 11 YEARS later over £175 fine
- Grace Firth, 32, from Stockport, was convicted in her absence in August 2009
- She had apparently dropped a Greggs paper bag on the ground in Manchester
- Student was ordered to pay £180 in costs which was reduced to £40 in court
A woman who dropped a Greggs paper bag on the floor after consuming the snack 11 years ago has been hauled to court over the error.
Grace Firth, 32, from Stockport, was convicted in her absence in August 2009 and fined £175 after she apparently dropped a paper bag on the floor near Bridgewater Place in Manchester.
The student, who was also ordered to pay £180 costs and a £15 victim surcharge, claimed she knew nothing about the original prosecution because letters were sent to the wrong address.
Grace Firth, 32, from Stockport, was convicted in her absence in August 2009 and fined £175 after she apparently dropped a paper bag from Greggs near Bridgewater Place in Manchester (stock image)
Appearing before Stockport Magistrates’ Court, Ms Firth said the first she had heard about the conviction was a notice she received in December last year regarding a ‘historical debt’.
She added she had never received any letter before this as they had been sent to her mother’s house by mistake, the BBC reported.
Ms Firth then contacted the court and discovered the prosecution.
She appeared before Stockport Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, where she made a ‘statutory declaration’ and swore an oath she knew nothing about the conviction.
The student, who was also ordered to pay £180 costs and a £15 victim surcharge, claimed she knew nothing about the original prosecution because letters were sent to the wrong address (stock image)
‘Any mail for me was returned to sender or thrown away,’ Ms Firth told the court.
Magistrates accepted the student’s declaration and praised her for being ‘very fair and very honest’ throughout the proceedings.
She was instead fined £40 plus the victim surcharge of £15. The £180 costs order was cancelled.
‘You’ve been very fair and very honest.’ Chairman Edward Tasker said. ‘Thank you for being so honest and for turning up.’