Greengrocer fined for blocking pavements

A greengrocer has been hit with a £3,200 court bill for blocking pavements with displays of stock – but insists he was "just trying to make a living".

The owner of the Big Apple Fruit Company says he would have gone out of business if Dudley magistrates had not slashed his fine from a possible maximum of £7,000.

Shelves and crates had obstructed the pavements outside the shops in Stourbridge High Street and Hagley Street, Halesowen, sparking complaints from the public, the court heard.

Pedestrians were even forced to walk in the road in front of oncoming traffic in Stourbridge.

Magistrates reduced the fine and gave managing director Anthony Robinson four months to pay – instead of 28 days – as they said they did not want yet another high street store to close.

There had been "numerous" complaints from the public in both towns, said Miss Neelam Bhangar, prosecuting on behalf of Dudley Council. The authority wrote to the firm six times in the space of a month asking for the display to be moved but it never was.

In the end Robinson was summoned to court facing seven charges of obstructing the highway, which he admitted.

He told the court his firm, which also has outlets in Walsall and Harborne, had been struggling recently.

The business was being propped up by loans and Robinson has only been able to pay himself £5,000 in wages over the last year.

He said: "We have seen a lot of shops shut down on the high street because everyone is finding it tough.

"We are just trying to make a living."

Robinson was fined £250 for each offence and ordered to pay £1,430 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

Chairman of magistrates Mr Len Ridney said the court accepted Robinson's financial difficulties.