A father has shared his shock and outrage after his five-year-old daughter was fined by her local council - for setting up a homemade lemonade stand.
Andre Spicer has shared his story after officers from the council called his daughter out for not having a trading licence, presenting her with a £150 fine.
“She just wanted to put a smile on people’s faces. She was really proud of herself,” Andre told the BBC.
“But after a small time trading, four enforcement officers walked over from the other side of the road."
While Andre thought they would tell his daughter to ‘pack up and go home’, he was horrified when they ‘turned on their mobile camera and began reading from a big script explaining that she did not have a trading licence’.
My five year old daughter was fined £150 for selling lemonade on the corner of our street. MT in @Telegraph today https://t.co/uHFyxEEEBh
— André Spicer (@andre_spicer) July 20, 2017
The tot, who had been selling 50p cups of lemonade to people attending the Lovebox festival on Saturday, was understandably scared and upset by the incident.
“She clung to me, screaming, ‘Daddy, Daddy, I’ve done a bad thing.’ She’s five,” he added.
They were then issued a fine of £150 by the Tower Hamlets Council, with the dejected little girl forced to pack up and go home.
Andre went on to write about his experience in The Telegraph, a move which has since prompted the council to withdraw their fine and apologise to the Spicers.
A representative said: “We are very sorry that this happened. We expect our enforcement officers to show common sense and to use their powers sensibly – this clearly didn’t happen.
“The fine will be cancelled immediately, and we have contacted Mr Spicer and his daughter to apologise.”
This isn’t the first such incident to occur this week. US father Richard LaRoche took to Facebook this week to share the story of how a neighbour threatened to call police on his daughter, who had set up a lemonade stall in their locality.
Posting in a private Facebook group, Richard dubbed the man ‘sad and pathetic’ for the move.
“She is trying to do something constructive with her time, and you hassled her for no good reason. Sorry if her ambition threatened you,” he wrote.
“She said you picked up your phone and said you were calling the police. We all know you did that to intimidate her – just sad and pathetic.”
Well, how does this story make you feel, mums? Don't hold back!
