An elderly Alabama woman was brought to tears after she was handcuffed, arrested and put in jail by two officers after she failed to pay a $77.80 trash bill - with her community labelling the act as 'shameful.'

Martha Menefield, 82, was approached by the officers at her home on Sunday, the City of Valley police insisting that the elderly woman had been treated with respect.

Menefield had initially thought that the arrest was a bad joke, thinking she had already paid the trash bill.

'You're not kidding?' she said, speaking to KTLA, before the officers, who remain nameless, slowly put the elderly woman into handcuffs.

'The cuffs, they were so heavy,' she said, her eyes welling with tears as she spoke of the ordeal.

She said that one of the officers had told her not to cry while they made the arrest.

'How would you feel if they came and arrested your grandmama?' she asked the officer who she claims didn't respond.

'I'm just happy my grandkids weren't here to see that. That would have upset them. I was so ashamed, and it's been bothering me.'

On Tuesday, Valley's chief of police, Mike Reynolds, defended the arrest in a post on the city's Facebook page.

But thousands took to Facebook in defense of the 82-year-old woman, who had lived in the Valley home for nearly 30 years, slamming the officers and describing their behavior as 'shameful.'

One user said: 'This is so shameful. The parties responsible deserve every single bit of the negativity it brings.'

Another user implored the mayor to pardon Menefield: 'Without government, who would kidnap an 82-year-old for forgetting to pay her trash bill for a couple months?

'God forbid some of your officer's pool together the less than $100 to pay it. I'm sure it cost way more than that in police resources to arrest her.

'Mayor Riley, you have the ability to fix this nonsense by pardoning Ms. Martha. Use it.'

Meanwhile one user took a swipe at Reynold's lack of remorse for Menefield: 'Protecting and serving. I'm sure Mike Reynolds wouldn't mind his grandmother being arrested for something similar.'

A few members of the community were shocked by the 'ridiculous' nature of the arrest and questioned the department on 'what judge would sign off on this.'

One user wrote: 'This is just ridiculous. I have to constantly call about picking up trash along our roads.

'By the way Senior Citizen shouldn't even have to roll their Trash along the road or pay for the Services. This is Sad.'

Another wrote: 'I don't care what the court decided and what judge signed off on it, this is simply one of those warrants that you ignore.

'Good lord, just cut off her service and don't turn it back on till she's paid up.

'Anyone participating in her arrest is complicit and should be ashamed of themselves and that includes the person that posted this press release here.

'In fact, anyone participating in her arrest could have pooled their resources and paid her bill.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11496511/Alabama-woman-handcuffed-arrested-unpaid-77-trash-collection-bill.html