Burry Port woman fined for cigarette litter
A Burry Port woman has been fined by the courts after throwing a cigarette end out of her car.
Beverley Margaret Jones, aged 48, of Pencoed Road, Burry Port, pleaded guilty by post to an offence contrary to Section 87 Environmental Protection Act 1990 at Ammanford Magistrates Court.
The prosecution was brought by Carmarthenshire County Council.
The court heard that Jones was issued with a fixed penalty notice of £75 by the council’s environmental enforcement officers on Sunday, December 5 last year near McDonalds in Parc Trostre, Llanelli. However, she failed to pay it.
Jones was fined £85 by magistrates and ordered to pay full prosecution costs of £194.86.
The council now hopes the case will act as a warning to others that anyone caught throwing litter will be prosecuted.
Research shows that discarded cigarette ends make up the largest proportion of litter in Carmarthenshire with 83 per cent of litter found on the county’s streets smoking-related.
Director of Technical Services Richard Workman said: “Many people do not think of cigarette ends as litter, but they are. They make an area look unsightly and they are difficult and very expensive to clean up - the ends fall into grates and cracks in the pavement which makes them almost impossible to remove by normal cleaning.
“Hopefully this fine will help to raise awareness of this type of litter. We do not want to fine people but we will not hesitate to do so if they continue to litter in this way.”
Beverley Margaret Jones, aged 48, of Pencoed Road, Burry Port, pleaded guilty by post to an offence contrary to Section 87 Environmental Protection Act 1990 at Ammanford Magistrates Court.
The prosecution was brought by Carmarthenshire County Council.
The court heard that Jones was issued with a fixed penalty notice of £75 by the council’s environmental enforcement officers on Sunday, December 5 last year near McDonalds in Parc Trostre, Llanelli. However, she failed to pay it.
Jones was fined £85 by magistrates and ordered to pay full prosecution costs of £194.86.
The council now hopes the case will act as a warning to others that anyone caught throwing litter will be prosecuted.
Research shows that discarded cigarette ends make up the largest proportion of litter in Carmarthenshire with 83 per cent of litter found on the county’s streets smoking-related.
Director of Technical Services Richard Workman said: “Many people do not think of cigarette ends as litter, but they are. They make an area look unsightly and they are difficult and very expensive to clean up - the ends fall into grates and cracks in the pavement which makes them almost impossible to remove by normal cleaning.
“Hopefully this fine will help to raise awareness of this type of litter. We do not want to fine people but we will not hesitate to do so if they continue to litter in this way.”
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