A grieving widow has been hit with a hefty fine after trying to donate her late husband's clothes to charity.
Sophie Scott, 51, took the clothes to a Salvation Army charity bin in Kings Hill, Kent.
However, upon arrival, saw that the bins were totally full, leading her to carefully place the two bin bags of clothes adjacent to the overspilling container.
But after getting into her car, an enforcement officer confronted her about the bags.
Despite Ms Scott's pleas that she was making a charitable donation, she was reminded about the penalties for fly-tipping and ultimately fined £300 for the offence.
It left the mum-of-two shocked and horrified by the lack of sympathy.
She said: "I was visibly very, very upset and told him that my mind was elsewhere."
The officer recorded her throughout the ordeal, which made Ms Scott feel "harassed" during an already traumatic time. "He made me feel like a criminal and I'm certainly not a criminal," she explained.
"He did absolutely nothing and said he was filming me and that I needed to take it up with the council."
Her husband, Simon, died in September at just 55 years old from an aggressive cancer.
His widow was still preparing for his funeral when the incident occurred.
A grieving widow has been hit with a hefty fine after trying to donate her late husband's clothes to charity
|GETTY
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
"I was very distressed because I’m about to have the funeral for my husband, who passed away very recently, so it’s been an incredibly difficult time, and it remains difficult.
"It was very distressing, I simply can't afford a £300 fine, I have one income now."
The 51-year-old contacted the council after her upsetting experience, who showed understanding by putting the fine on hold while investigating the matter.
"The fixed penalty notice was issued in line with our standard policy and the signs displayed at the recycling site," a spokesman for the council explained.
The Salvation Army have clothes bins dotted around the country
|GETTY
They recommended Ms Scott to contact Kingdom, who handle the enforcement work.
Kingdom simply said: "We are committed to ensuring that every case is handled fairly and with full consideration of the circumstances.
"Our approach is designed to be both thorough and proportionate, and we welcome dialogue with individuals who wish to provide additional context."
A spokesman for the Salvation Army said they were "really sorry" to hear about the story, adding: “Receiving a fine for trying to help a charity is upsetting and frustrating and we do everything we can to avoid that by emptying our banks regularly, often daily.
"The Kings Hill site is busy and is visited regularly. We don’t want to put people off donating to us as we use the funds generated from selling clothing items to fund our vital work like providing hot meals for rough sleepers or nappies and baby milk for a desperate family.
"However, if a bank looks like it is full, we ask that people try and save donations for another day."