A Croydon man has been fined over £800 after dropping a cigarette butt in public.
The resident of New Addington was in court after failing to pay a fine for littering in Bromley town centre.
Court documents stated Carl Smith dropped a cigarette butt in Market Square, Bromley, on May 23 this year.
The resident of Chesney Crescent in New Addington was prosecuted for breaching Section 87 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, stating he is entitled to a fine for dropping litter in public.
Mr Smith pleaded guilty to the offence on Tuesday afternoon last week, December 3, in Bromley Magistrates’ Court. The Croydon man was ordered to pay £833 which consisted of a fine of £293 alongside a surcharge of £117 and £423 in costs.
The case was the 12th prosecution for littering made by the council since the start of September, with the offenders paying a combined total of £6,129 to date. The most recent offence follows two similar incidents last month in which a Lewisham woman and Orpington man were each ordered to pay £731 for dropping cigarette butts in the borough earlier in the year.
Conservative Councillor Angela Page, Executive Councillor for Public Protection and Enforcement, said: “We have no desire to prosecute anyone, but littering is a serious problem and a criminal offence, with street cleaning costs running into millions.”
She added: “We would encourage everyone to find a litter bin or take their rubbish home as we need to put a stop to littering in our borough. When our enforcement officers witness littering, a fixed penalty notice is issued, and prosecution will follow if this is not paid.”
A council spokesperson said the authority’s street cleaning teams work seven days a week across the borough. They emphasised that littering was illegal and the enforcement team would issue a fine to anyone caught in the act, with prosecution and higher costs following anyone not paying the initial penalty charge notice.
