Bont man's £700 bill for litter
A Pontarddulais has been ordered to pay more than £700 by the courts after throwing litter from a car near McDonalds in Llanelli.
Gary Leigh Lewis was convicted in his absence following a trial at Llanelli Magistrates Court.
The prosecution was brought by Carmarthenshire County Council.
The court heard that the council’s environmental enforcement officers were on duty on Saturday, September 5 at Llanelli’s Parc Trostre as part of the council’s ‘Bin It’ campaign when they saw litter thrown from a car which was parked next to two litter bins.
The officers approached the vehicle and spoke to the driver (Lewis) about what they had seen. However, he denied throwing the litter and refused to give the officers his name and address. As a result, the police were called. Lewis eventually gave his name and address but refused to accept a fixed penalty notice and was instead reported for prosecution through the courts.
Lewis, aged 20, of Dantwyn Road, Pontarddulais, was fined a total of £260 and ordered to pay full prosecution costs of £485.14.
The incident happened during a council campaign encouraging people to dispose of their litter more responsibly. Posters asking customers to put their rubbish in the bin were on display at the food fast outlets in Parc Trostre and staff wore ‘Bin It’ t-shirts to help council education and awareness officers spread the word to clean up the county.
The council’s executive board member for the environment Councillor Haydn Jones said: “Dropping litter is against the law, whether it is discarding rubbish from a vehicle, throwing cigarette ends or spitting out chewing gum.
“The council is determined to prosecute those that break the law and I hope this latest court case will act as a warning to others that this type of anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated. There is no excuse for littering our streets.”
Gary Leigh Lewis was convicted in his absence following a trial at Llanelli Magistrates Court.
The prosecution was brought by Carmarthenshire County Council.
The court heard that the council’s environmental enforcement officers were on duty on Saturday, September 5 at Llanelli’s Parc Trostre as part of the council’s ‘Bin It’ campaign when they saw litter thrown from a car which was parked next to two litter bins.
The officers approached the vehicle and spoke to the driver (Lewis) about what they had seen. However, he denied throwing the litter and refused to give the officers his name and address. As a result, the police were called. Lewis eventually gave his name and address but refused to accept a fixed penalty notice and was instead reported for prosecution through the courts.
Lewis, aged 20, of Dantwyn Road, Pontarddulais, was fined a total of £260 and ordered to pay full prosecution costs of £485.14.
The incident happened during a council campaign encouraging people to dispose of their litter more responsibly. Posters asking customers to put their rubbish in the bin were on display at the food fast outlets in Parc Trostre and staff wore ‘Bin It’ t-shirts to help council education and awareness officers spread the word to clean up the county.
The council’s executive board member for the environment Councillor Haydn Jones said: “Dropping litter is against the law, whether it is discarding rubbish from a vehicle, throwing cigarette ends or spitting out chewing gum.
“The council is determined to prosecute those that break the law and I hope this latest court case will act as a warning to others that this type of anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated. There is no excuse for littering our streets.”
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