Councils issue record number of fines for ‘busybody offences’

Public spaces protection orders being used to crack down on napping in public and climbing trees in England and Wales

A record number of on-the-spot fines were issued by councils for what have been dubbed busybody offences", with many cracking down on activities such as feeding birds, swearing and napping in public.

The seemingly bizarre nature of some of the fines issued under Public Spaces Protection Order legislation has seen them increase to 13,433 in 2022, up from 10,412 in 2019. More than 150 councils issued at least one penalty in 2022, according to a report.