Widow ‘made to feel like a criminal’ after being fined for taking pet dog to husband’s grave

Steve Hopkins

Lynda Martin was the first person to be fined since the ban was introduced in 2017

A widow was fined £100 for taking her border collie to visit her husband’s grave after a council banned dogs from the cemetery.

Lynda Martin says she was “made to feel like a criminal” when she became the first person to be hit with a fixed penalty notice for breaching the rule in Herne Bay, Kent.

The 67-year-old has visited the site frequently with her beloved dog Megan since her husband, Niall Willis, 81, was buried last April. The 12-year-old collie was even by her side at Niall’s funeral.

Martin was confronted by an enforcement officer and fined – the first since the ban was introduced in 2017 – on February 25, after being found inside an “exclusion area”.

“I felt victimised and was made to feel like a criminal,” Martin said, adding that her pet pooch was on her lead and “under control”.

“I could have understood if Megan was rampaging all over the graves, but I think you should be able to take a dog in on its lead.”

Martin admits she was aware of the ban, so quickly paid the fine. However, she is now calling for the rule to be scrapped and is being supported by senior city councillor, Joe Howes.

Martin added: “Megan is my constant companion and my emotional support.

“I don’t know what I would have done over the last year without her.

“I think the enforcement officers are better off catching real criminals – fly-tippers and hooligans – rather than preying on someone vulnerable.”

As part of a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO), dogs are also banned from entering Canterbury Cemetery in Becket Avenue, and most of Whitstable Cemetery, except for a public footpath running from Millstrood Road to the north-east of the site.

Howes has backed Martin’s calls for the PSPO to be reviewed, arguing that “well-behaved” dogs on leads should be permitted, as long as their owners clear up after them.

He said: “It is awful this has happened to a woman of her age, or to anyone who is grieving, which is why it’s important there is a review to look at why this has happened.

“She was breaking the rules – which she has said – but I think it needs to be looked at because dogs do miss their owners.

“A well-behaved dog on a lead and a sensible owner who tidies up their dog’s mess should be permitted.

“I know a lot of people who visit graves with their pets and have never been stopped or spotted.”

A spokesman for Canterbury City Council, which runs the site, confirmed Martin is the first person to be fined for a breach of the rule in Herne Bay Cemetery.

He added that the PSPO was consulted on “extensively” before its introduction in 2017 and again when it was renewed in 2020.

“Historically we had a number of complaints about dog walkers using the cemetery and about dog fouling, which is upsetting to other people who go there to visit the graves of loved ones,” the spokesman explained.

“The parish council has also asked us to take action on dog fouling following an increase in the problem recently.”

The spokesman said signs are on show at the cemetery to explain the restrictions.

He added that Martin admitted the breach and the council reviewed bodycam footage and are “satisfied that the officer dealt with the incident in a courteous and professional manner and that the fixed penalty notice was correctly issued”.

Martin’s fine was issued by an enforcement officer from Kingdom LA Support, which was controversially rehired by the council in November.

The firm was previously employed by the authority between 2014 and 2016, with its officers often criticised for being “overzealous”.

A memorable episode during that period saw workers fine a retired couple £160 for littering, after they left a handful of cherry stones at the foot of a tree.

During a trial last summer ahead of Kingdom being rehired, the firm was accused of targeting smokers as “easy pickings” as 96 per cent of fines were given to people dropping cigarette butts.