A record number of fines for “busybody offences” were issued in England and Wales last year, as councils cracked down on activities such as feeding birds, climbing trees, or napping in public.
These on-the-spot fines were issued for violating a Public Spaces Protection Order, which gives local authorities the power to ban activities carried out in a public place if a council official determines they “have had a detrimental effect on the quality of life of those in the locality” – or that it is likely these activities will have such an effect.
