Appealing a fixed penalty notice
Appealing an FPN
There are no formal grounds of appeal against an FPN, as it is an invitation to discharge your liability to be summonsed to court/prosecution, and while this is not an admission of guilt, you agree that an offence has been committed and by paying the sum of money specified no further action will be undertaken by the council. Dealing with it in this manner saves the time for everyone (including the offender) in prosecuting cases at court, and costs associated to FPN’s are significantly less than any fine imposed by the courts.
If you pick up litter after an officer has approached you, you will still receive an FPN. It is important to realise that the littering offence relates to the dropping of litter and leaving it once you have dropped it. So, whether or not you volunteer to pick up your litter afterwards you have committed an offence will be issued with an FPN.
If you dispute that you committed the offence for which you received the FPN then the matter will be dealt with through formal prosecution via the courts. It will then be up to the court, on receiving evidence, to determine whether or not an offence was committed and therefore whether or not any penalty should be imposed. Effectively this means that the formal court route becomes the mechanism for those wishing to appeal an FPN.