HUMAN rights group Liberty has offered to look at the case of a teenager who was fined £80 for swearing.

Kurt Walker, 18, is planning to fight the on-the-spot penalty handed out by a policewoman in Victoria Park at Deal.

His case is due to be held at Ashford Magistrates Court at the end of the month, where he will get the chance to challenge the fine.

A spokeswoman for Liberty said they were generally concerned about summary justice, where guilt is determined on the spot rather than through the courts.

“We have a human rights legal team who do take on test cases and we would be happy to speak to Mr Walker,” she added.

Director of Liberty Shami Chakrabarti said: “This is a snapshot of summary justice in the Prime Minister’s Britain. Kids will never learn to respect the law like this.”

Mr Walker said he will speak to Liberty and is determined to win his case. He said: “People have been coming up to me and saying how unfair and completely over the top this fine was."

The policewoman who fined Mr Walker was in Victoria Park helping a community support officer deal with complaints about some young people who were causing a nuisance.

Police spokesman Jon Green said: “While the PC was taking details from three young people who were breaking a by-law by riding their bikes in the skate park an 18-year-old man came over and intervened and asked the young people what they were doing.

“They then asked him what he was doing and he swore. This was said in close proximity to the police officer and the PCSO while they were talking to the young people about their riding.”

Mr Green added that the use of the swearing in a public place was an offence under the Public Order Act 1986 and Mr Walker was issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice.

Bill Butler, area youth and community officer, said the teenager was not one of life’s “bad ones".

He stressed: "He is one of the many youngsters who have been caught up in the frenzy of meeting the Government’s Respect Agenda targets and it is very sad youngsters are been trampled on so heavily.

“Kurt is heavily involved in a good-quality voluntary work in the community through the Millennium Volunteer Programme and it is a great pity that a carelessly-used word has affected him in this way.

“He is normally a very well-spoken young man and very many adults, including police officers, may from time to time use similar language.”