A woman in the United Kingdom has been left bewildered after she received a penalty for dropping a cigarette in a village nearly 300 kilometres away from her home—a place she says she hasn't visited in decades. The notice was sent to Natalie Walton's parents' house and reportedly accused her of dropping a cigarette in Swanscombe. The notice, dated November 12, claimed that a Dartford Council officer witnessed her 'committing the offence,' which was also recorded on a camera on October 29. She is now liable to pay a £75 (Rs 8,082) fine or appeal it.
The notice added that Ms Walton could be taken to court, and if convicted, she may have to pay a fine 'up to £2,500 (Rs 2,69,410) for littering.'
Walton refuted the allegations, saying that she is a non-smoker and has not visited the place where the offence took place since she was a child. Walton added she had an alibi that proved she was not even in Kent at the time of the supposed offence.
"I had not been to Kent for months. Dartford Council were trying to fine me £75 for something I was not even there to do. It is just a bit bizarre. I was accused of littering a cigarette in Swanscombe, which is honestly more absurd as I do not smoke and have never been to the address they have claimed I was at," she was quoted as saying by KentOnline.
"I feel like a complete victim of fraud. Someone must have stolen my identity, or the council's security measures are so broken they will take a name and address with no proof."
To substantiate her claims, Walton showed her bank transactions, proving that she was shopping in B&M and Tesco in Staffordshire at the time of the littering incident.
After her protest and examination of the evidence, Dartford Council said Ms Walton's FPN was cancelled.
"When I saw the email, I was relieved and felt so much less stressed, but I still have no idea how they thought it was me," she said.
The council, meanwhile, said the real accused had given the wrong address to the officers and pointed them towards Ms Walton.
"Our enforcement team requested a current photo of Ms Walton, and upon receiving it, it was compared to the person in the footage. It was found it was not Ms Walton, and the FPN has now been cancelled."
The council is still investigating who the real offender is but was unable to provide a photo.