A city council has been compared to "communist China " over patrols to stop walkers feeding birds bread.
Complaints were made to Leicester City Council after some slices of bread were left out for the birds in Rushey Mead.
Wardens were then sent to the area to investigate reports of four slices of bread on the floor, before they tweeted a picture of the scene and warned walkers not to feed the birds.
The wardens removed the bread, saying a sign warning people not to feed the birds will be installed at the site.
They said in the meantime they will monitor the area with patrols in the mornings to catch any early rising bird-feeders, Leicestershire Live reports.
The tweet read: "Rushey Mead City Warden has received complaints regarding bread deposited for birds on public land. Visited and removed bread. Sign to be installed at location and will monitor with early patrols."
North West Leicestershire MP Andrew Bridgen said they appeared to be taking a tougher stance on bird lovers than lockdown breakers.
He said: "It's like communist China, stopping you feeding the birds. Big Brother is watching in Leicester when you are feeding the birds, it seems.
"It's a bit like the lockdowns in Shanghai right now – you can't feed the birds.
"Given that Leicester was one of the most locked-down places during Covid, it's interesting that the council didn't take that view on rule-breaking on the mayor's breaking of lockdown to visit his partner."
According to the city council, despite the good intentions from the person who left the bread, it can also attract rats to the area.
Local residents complained to the council, resulting in the wardens collecting the bread and have put in place plans to warn people in the future, hoping to prove a point about the risks of feeding wild birds.
A Leicester City Council spokesperson said: “Leaving bread for birds can attracts rats. In this case, complaints were received from residents."
They added: "The bread was removed and we will be putting up signs reminding people not to feed birds.”
