A bedbound gran was summonsed to appear in court – six years after being fined by a council for dropping a cigarette.

Stroke victim Betty Remedios, 77, lives in a care home in Gillingham and is unable to sit up.

But bailiffs have even come knocking on her daughter Susanne Howitt’s door over the £455 penalty.

When the case was heard in court last month – at least the third time Miss Remedios had been summonsed – magistrates in Folkestone rescinded the fine and said it was “ridiculous” it had reached this stage.

Ms Howitt says it is “disgusting” the issue has dragged on so long.

It was back in 2017 that Miss Remedios was spotted stubbing out her cigarette on the ground in Dartford before putting it into the bin.

This was enough for Dartford Borough Council to issue a fixed penalty notice to the then 71-year-old. After she failed to respond, it was escalated to Medway Magistrates’ Court.

But assuming her mum had paid the penalty – despite thinking it was unfair at the time – Ms Howitt forgot about the incident until December last year when bailiffs came knocking on her door.

Ms Howitt, 50, said: “She’s not well enough to hear something so stressful and I had to tell the bailiff that he couldn’t talk to her because now she wouldn’t really understand.

“It’s shocking and everyone I’ve told has said the same. The more concerning thing is they don’t believe you when you tell them the person is vulnerable.

“I told them she was recovering from a stroke, that she is bedbound, that she can’t even sit up and that she wouldn’t be able to talk to them.

“You just think, why would I lie to you about something like that? She’s my mum, she’s looked after me for 50 years.

“It’s been quite challenging dealing with it at the same time as working full-time and managing my life, as well as hiding it from mum. It’s been quite stressful really.”

Last month, when Miss Remedios’ case finally came before the bench at Folkestone Magistrates’ Court, where magistrates quickly agreed to cancel the fine.

“In light of the circumstances we will remit the rest of the outstanding balance”, the chairman said, before adding that it was “ridiculous” the case had reached this stage.

At that hearing, they forgave £235 of the balance originally owed, as the other £220 had been forgiven at an earlier hearing.

In response to the six-year pursuit, a spokesperson for Dartford Borough Council said the authority “is not responsible for bringing about this recent court case”.

“We considered the matter closed in 2017,” they said.

“A decision to pursue payment may have been taken by the court, but it was not something the council would be party to.”

Miss Remedios is now free from being chased by court summons and debt collection agencies. But her daughter is still frustrated the system took so long to recognise her mother’s vulnerable state.

Ms Howitt, who now lives in Crawley, said: “It’s good news that they’ve remitted the fine but why it’s had to drag on so long I have absolutely no idea. It’s just disgusting.

“It’s also just been such a waste of time, effort and money for the courts system.

“If I’m honest the whole thing is a disgrace and I think it could have been handled a whole lot better.”

The Ministry of Justice said it was unable to comment.