Woman threatened over cat adverts

A grandmother who found a lost cat in her garden was threatened with a fine after putting posters on lampposts in an attempt to find its owners. Joy Tracey, of Denton, Greater Manchester, contacted animal shelters, vets and pet shops in a bid to help Copper, the ginger tom she had found.

But when she attached A5-sized appeal posters to 12 lampposts near her home, Tameside Council contacted her instead. It said she should have asked for permission at least 28 days in advance.

When Ms Tracey was called by someone from the Town Hall, she was told she had fallen foul of the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 1992, Clauses A, B and F. Offenders face a conviction and fine if the rules are broken or permitted posters are in place for more than 28 days.



"He said whilst he sympathised, it was an offence, and told me to remove them all from the Denton area or face a hefty fine," she said. "The world is going potty with petty officialdom. As long as I can remember, lost pets have been advertised on lampposts.

Ms Tracey added: "I'd had no response and he's such a lovely cat I had to get him home. They have gone mad with power."

Tameside Council said it was simply enforcing the rules on fly posting. Copper was reunited with his owners on Wednesday.