COUNCIL bosses have been accused of wasting taxpayers' money by prosecuting a sick woman for walking her dog through a graveyard to see her autistic godson.

Jill Eyre was given a conditional discharge by magistrates in Darlington after admitting walking her eight-month-old husky Alfie through North Cemetery, in January.

Ms Eyre, 47, acknowledges that she was in the wrong to take a short cut through the cemetery with her dog, as there are warning signs at the entrance.

However, she believes the misdemeanour could have been dealt with by way of a verbal warning from Darlington Borough Council, particularly given the mitigating circumstances she put before the court.

She accused council officials of being "heavy-handed" in their approach to the incident.

A council spokeswoman said the decision to take the case to court was not taken lightly, but said Ms Eyre was asked "several times" not to walk her dog in the cemetery.

Ms Eyre said: "On previous occasions when I have gone to meet my friend’s children from school, I have seen many parents with their dogs, some of them chatting to the council gardeners on their way through [the cemetery].

"Because of this, I didn’t really see any harm in it; my puppy was only 16 weeks old and on a lead as always. As far as we saw it, it was just a short cut.

"On the day of this incident, I was feeling quite unwell. I was taking large doses of prescription painkillers to alleviate the severe pain I was suffering due to a prolapsed disc in my neck.

"The only reason the puppy was with me that day was that my friend’s seven-year-old autistic son adores him and I wanted to surprise him and his brother as they came out of school."

She said she was approached in an "unpleasant and intimidating manner" by a member of the council's Street Scene team, who warned her that she could be prosecuted for bringing the dog into the cemetery.

She left the cemetery immediately and said she only returned on the walk home from school so as to avoid triggering behavioural problems in her autistic godson.

Ms Eyre said the group was approached a second time by a "very irate" council employee, adding: "[He] demanded my name and told me I would be prosecuted.

"He offered no identification and gave me no opportunity to explain the reasons why we decided to go through the cemetery. It was as if our presence there was a deliberate affront to his authority."

Ms Eyre said a complaint has been made about the council employee's conduct, but it had yet to be satisfactorily resolved.

A council spokeswoman said: “We do not take people to court lightly, but this individual had been asked several times not to take her dog into the cemetery.

"There is a bylaw in place and we have had complaints from people who have seen dog walkers let their dogs foul in the cemetery.”

Ms Eyre was also told to pay a £15 victim surcharge, but magistrates issued no fine and did not make an order for costs.