A woman has hit out at Bradford Council after she was slapped with a fine after her children fed some sausage roll crumbs to pigeons.

Katie Trudgill, 31, from Ravenscliffe, had taken her children shopping in Bradford city centre when they stopped for a bite to eat.

After buying Amelia, five, and Finley, three, some sausage rolls from the Pound Bakery, at Kirkgate Shopping Centre, they sat on a bench on Kirkgate to tuck into the pastry treats.

But the day then took a turn for the worse.

Miss Trudgill said: “They were eating them, everything was fine.

“Then all they have done, they had bits of pastry at the bottom of their bags and they have tipped it out to the pigeons.”

She then said a council official wearing a uniform and badge came over and slapped her with an £80 fine for littering.

“I didn’t know anything about it, or else I would not have let my kids do it. They were just tipping out to the pigeons, no rubbish was on the floor as I had taken the bags off them and put them in the bin. When he came over, there was nothing on the floor, as there were that many pigeons.

“On the receipt it says ‘I believe’ rather than ‘I witnessed’ her doing it.”

She claims there are no signs saying that it is a littering offence.

“Most people have said ‘go to court’ and whatever, but I really don’t want to do that. I might just have to pay it.”

Bradford Council recently launched its ‘Eyes’ campaign in partnership with the Tidy Britain Group in a bid to stop people littering around the district.

Fines of £80 can be given and it aims to tackle the problem of people littering on Bradford’s pavements and roads.

The private firm 3GS has been brought in by Bradford Council in a bid to get tough on litter-louts.

In June, 3GS managing director Paul Buttivant confirmed bird feeding would incur a fine, but said his staff would be trained to discern an honest mistake from a deliberate crime

At the time, he said: “If somebody drops something out of their jacket pocket, or their child drops something, officers would say, ‘Sorry, but you just dropped that’.”

A Council spokesperson said: “Feeding pigeons in the city centre is discouraged as it can attract vermin and then makes the streets and buildings dirty. It is classed as a littering offence. People who receive a Fixed Penalty Notice for dropping litter can appeal the fine and there are comprehensive instructions on Bradford Council’s website about how to do this.”