Fined for feeding a gull

A schoolboy was fined £50 for feeding half a chip to a seagull. Jack Double, 14, got the on-the-spot penalty after litter wardens saw him chuck the treat to the bird.

The shocked youngster, who had bought a bag of chips on his school lunchbreak, said: “One tasted hard — and I saw the other half was green so I threw it to a seagull.

“I couldn’t believe it when two litter enforcement officers came up and handed me a notice saying I had to pay £50.”

Just weeks earlier Jack, of Ipswich, Suffolk, had been given a certificate by a litter officer commending him for putting rubbish in a bin.

He refused to tell the wardens his name — so they followed him back to Chantry High School, where staff identified him.

He was fined under the 1990 Environmental Protection Act.

The notice warned Jack that refusal to pay could mean a £2,500 court fine.

Furious mum Mandy has appealed to Ipswich Council.She said: “If he’d thrown a crisp packet I would have had no sympathy. But half a chip to a seagull is ridiculous.”

A council spokesman: “We are determined to keep Ipswich clear of food mess which can attract vermin.”