Mother is fined £150 for 'littering' after dropping single kale leaf in her trolley while collecting food for vulnerable people

By JAKE HOLDEN, UK NEWS REPORTER Published: 10:00, 17 June 2026 | Updated: 10:29, 17 June 2026 A mother was left 'stunned' after she was handed a 'ridiculous' £150 fine for leaving a kale leaf behind in her shopping trolley while collecting food for vulnerable people. Monica Serro, 42, was loading food up in Sainsbury's car park in Arnold, Nottingham, when a council enforcement officer set upon her and accused her of littering last Thursday. Ms Serro, a welfare officer, had spent the day collecting much-needed food parcels from local supermarkets with her mother, which she then offers for free from her home to those in need. She wheeled her trolley back to the drop-off point but didn't notice that a large kale leaf had come loose and was wedged into the metal frame. That was the moment the enforcement agent for Gedling Borough Council pounced - he marched up to Ms Serro and confronted her about the loose kale. He claimed the leaf was food waste and printed out a ticket for a £150 fine on the spot. Ms Serro said: 'As I returned, an officer from the council was there and he walked up to us and said "You know you just littered, you left a wrapping paper in the trolley". 'I said no I didn't. He said it was illegal and was reaching for the device to print out a fine. Monica Serro, 42, was 'stunned' to be handed a 'ridiculous' £150 fine for leaving a kale leaf in her trolley while picking up food packages to give out to vulnerable people The enforcement officer marched up to her and accused her of littering for the leaf, saying it was 'food waste' and telling her 'next time use a bin' 'I showed him it was a kale leaf left behind on a trolley. He said, "Yeah that's food waste, next time use a bin." I was stunned. 'The whole thing was ridiculous. You're trying to reduce food waste and then you get told you're adding to it. 'I didn't notice it was on the trolley. My mum told him I was a volunteer collecting food for the community. He said if I refused to provide my details he would increase the fine. 'I didn't want to argue anymore, my mum was getting really upset with the whole situation. He gave me the fine and took the kale leaf and gave it me.' Ms Serro immediately contacted the council to dispute the fine. They did eventually cancel the charge last Saturday after several emails, but Ms Serro still says she should not have been handed the 'ridiculous' fine in the first place. She added: 'I noticed on the fine he put a different address down, not the Sainsbury's car park, and the reason as I was fined was for throwing a cigarette to the floor. 'He wanted to fine me for the kale leaf, but then it implies that I was throwing a cigarette butt. 'I disputed the fine and told the council asking them to look at the bodycam footage. 'I got zero reply. For the ticket they just sent me an email saying they saw the footage and said there was a technical issue with the footage and that I didn't have to pay. 'When he saw it was a kale leaf he had to stand his ground. He was a young lad so I don't know if he's doing it for the first time. The fine was eventually cancelled after Ms Serro sent several emails. She said she was left 'paranoid' after the incident, adding that the fine was actually written up for discarding a cigarette butt, not the kale leaf in question Monica asked the council to review the bodycam footage. They put the cigarette end mix-up down to a technical fault and apologised before cancelling the fine 'I've never heard of anyone being fined £150 for a kale leaf. I think he was fishing for tickets. 'It's a private parking and a trolley from Sainsbury's. I don't think it is illegal leaving a kale leaf in a trolley, he could have called my attention to it before but no. 'It will make me a bit paranoid in the future. I suffer from anxiety so I was anxious for the rest of the day.' The council have since apologised to Monica for the blunder, saying there was a 'technical error'. In an email, the council's complaints team said: 'I have reviewed the body camera footage and evidence surrounding your fixed penalty notice and apologise for the communication error with the title of the offence. 'This is due to a technical error, and I apologise for any distress this has caused. 'I have cancelled your fixed penalty notice on this occasion.' The Daily Mail has contacted Gedling Borough Council for a comment.  The comments below have been moderated in advance. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. 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