Veteran Fined £70 For 'Helping Homeless On Christmas Day'

An Army veteran who stopped in an empty bus lane to give a homeless man some warm clothes says he is "disgusted" after being given a fine.

Lee Williamson had spotted the rough sleeper outside Leicester railway station on Christmas Day at around 10am.

As there were no buses or trains running that day and barely any traffic, the carpenter and part-time charity worker decided to pull over his car.

The 43-year-old then handed some hats, gloves, scarves and food to the grateful homeless man before spending the rest of the day with his family.

Mr Williamson said the man looked freezing and he "really felt for him": 

"He was absolutely over the moon. He sat there on his own without another person in sight and I think I made his day.

"I spoke to him for a bit and when I left I didn't think anymore if it. I couldn't have been there for more than five minutes.

"He was there on his own, which means he's not a beggar, he wasn't begging for money or anything, he was just alone and homeless."

The dad-of-three emailed the authority to explain his charitable gesture but was left stunned when they said they would not be overturning the fine.

He said he felt like he was being "punished for doing something good", has refused to pay the fine and said he would be happy to contest the matter in court.

Mr Williamson had supplies in his car because he works with the charity 'Once, We Were Soldiers', which patrols the streets looking for homeless veterans to offer help and support.

He added: "I thought once I explained to the council why I had pulled over they would just cancel the ticket.

"I'm pretty disgusted, there should be digression, I could understand if the road was busy but there was no one around.

"They told me it was not safe to park there. How can it be unsafe if there are literally no other road users around?

"It's not like I've parked up to go to the shops in rush hour on a busy weekday. Of course, I would never dream of doing that.

"It was a simple charitable gesture on a day when the city was absolutely dead, you would think common sense would prevail but obviously not.

The major of Leicester, Sir Peter Soulsby, has said he will do everything he can to cancel the fine.

"To punish him for doing a good deed on Christmas day is crazy, rules can be taken to an extreme - we should do everything we can to make sure Lee isn't punished and the fine is cancelled."

Meanwhile, an English businessman living in France has paid the parking fine for Mr Williamson.

According to the Leicester Mercury, David Poole found out about the veteran's situation while browsing the internet.

The 42-year-old told the newspaper that he 'understands the line of law' followed by the council, but wanted to avoid Mr Williamson having to pay the fine:

"I saw this chap doing this good deed and being punished for it. I thought, ‘I don’t want him to be put off doing a good deed in the future'".

Mr Williamson added: "The fine is £70 - that money could put someone who is homeless in a home for a week with food.

"The council say there are dedicated to helping homeless people but this is just an insult to them and a disgusting abuse of power.

"If someone now was to think of stopping to help, they might not now because of fear of getting in trouble or fined like me.

"But this hasn't changed me, if someone needs help, I'll help them."

"Whilst we sympathise with your situation and applaud your intentions - the CCTV was specifically introduced to prevent drivers stopping briefly at this point on London Road primarily because it is not safe."

The letter also made reference to the death of cyclist Sam Boulton, 26, as a reason why motorists cannot stop there.

The cyclist was knocked off his bike in July 2016 by a passenger getting out of a taxi by the station, which caused him to fall into the path of a van.

Cover photo courtesy of SWNS.