A PETITION against Oxford City Council to stop ‘threatening homeless people with fines’ has collected more than 4,200 signatures.

Stuart Fowkes set up the petition page and accused the local authority of ‘dehumanising homeless people’ after staff issued community protection notices [CPN] to rough sleepers who had left belongings outside a shop in Cornmarket.

When the Oxford Mail first reported the notices threatening court action, Green Party councillors in the city claimed the move was ‘heavy-handed’.

But the local authority hit back at the comments, stating the bag had been left outside the shop for more than a year and were a fire safety issue.

Now Mr Fowkes, who has organised music festival Audioscope for homeless charity Shelter since 2001, told the Mail he set up the page after reading and hearing reaction to the council’s actions.

Mr Fowkes, 38, from Oxford, has helped raised more than £30,000 with fellow music lover Simon Minter through the annual event.

He said: “It’s a ridiculous action to take. The way [the council] has gone about it is unnecessarily punitive and unnecessarily negative.

“Threatening people with court action is really not the way to do it. They are Oxford citizens. They are people like everyone else.”

Mr Fowkes said in the petition the council’s ‘attitude’ towards rough sleepers needed to ‘stop’. He added if enough people made noise on the issue, the local authority would have to act.

He added: “It was quite a shocking thing to read, to find out it’s going on in Oxford. A lot of people got fired up and quite angry about it. Homelessness is an issue I’m involved in and interested in. It’s quite close to my heart.”

The city council said last night its stance was the same as previously stated.

A statement last week said the bags were moved from Cornmarket because they were a ‘fire safety issue’.

It added: “Bags had been left outside a city centre shop for more than a year.

“We asked the owners of the bags on numerous occasions not to obstruct the fire escape.

“Work recently began on the refurbishment of the shop and the city council was asked by the building company to assist in the removal of the bags because they were blocking fire exit routes, therefore posing a risk to those working inside.”

Council officers issued CPNs on the unattended items and gave the owners of two days to remove them. The CPNs required the owners to remove the items and allow the council to remove abandoned ‘obstructions’.

The local authority added: “It is our legal duty to inform anyone in receipt of a notice of all possible sanctions, whether they are to be used or not, including a possible court imposed fine of up to £2,500.

“After two days the owners removed all their belongings. What was left was a soiled duvet and pieces of cardboard, which we disposed of. No one was fined, and the fire escape is no longer blocked.”

Green party city councillor David Thomas called for the Labour-run council to review its strategy in helping homeless people living in Oxford, but with no links to the city. Calls have also been made to re-open the Lucy Faithfull House homeless shelter in Speedwell Street.