Nurse, 33, is fined £150 for 'fly-tipping' by council after leaving free apples outside her home for passers-by

A generous nurse has been fined £150 for 'fly-tipping' after she left fallen apples outside her home for neighbours.

Lydia Farrell, 33, thought she was doing a 'good deed' when she placed the apples on the pavement inside a box clearly labelled 'free eating apples'.

They had fallen from a tree in her garden and would have gone to waste if they weren't offered around. 

But when Lydia got home she was horrified to find Ealing Council had taken a dim view of her actions, pushing a letter through her door accusing her of littering and ordering her to pay a £150 fine or face court action.

The west London council has said it will withdraw the fine after receiving backlash online. 

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Lydia Farrell said she was 'disheartened' to return to her home in Ealing, west London, to find the council had fined her for offering apples to neighbours

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The offending fruits were placed in a bucket that was clearly labelled 'free eating apples'

Lydia said she felt 'very disheartened' after seeing the letter, especially as she walks past 'real fly-tipping at the end of my road every day'.

'We'd been away for a few days and not only did we come home to that fine but also someone had forced entry into our back garden and broken our fence,' she told Metro.co.uk.

'So two real crimes were committed by other people and I'm the only one who gets fined.

'I just feel it was quite sad that the council would fine me for doing a good deed.'

Ealing Council said its leader, Councillor Julian Bell, contacted Lydia as soon as he heard what had happened.

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Some were also positioned inside cardboard boxes. They had fallen from a tree in her garden and would have gone to waste if they weren't offered around

A spokesman said: 'The council recognises the spirit of the residents' actions was with good intentions. We will be in touch with Ms Farrell to rescind the fine.

'Our priority is to make sure the borough is clean and litter free and we apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused'.

Lydia said she will continue to share the apples but may have to 'fix them to my wall somehow'. She also has some passionfruits ripening at present.