Three fined for cigarette litter
Three women have each been fined £75 for dropping cigarette ends in Ammanford town centre.
The council’s environmental enforcement officers issued the fixed penalty notices in Quay Street during a joint patrol with public protection officers.
Failure to pay could result in prosecution in the magistrates court where the maximum fine is £2,500.
It coincides with a council campaign, supported by Tidy Towns, to raise awareness of smoking-related litter. On the same day council education and awareness officers were in Tesco in Ammanford handing out free pocket ashtrays.
Discarded cigarette ends make up the largest proportion of litter in Carmarthenshire with visible evidence of smoking-related litter found on 83 per cent of the streets inspected by Keep Wales Tidy.
The council’s 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.
“We hope people will take notice of this campaign; we don’t want to fine people, but we will not hesitate to do so if they continue to litter in this way.”
Enforcement officers regularly carry out patrols across Carmarthenshire.
Council officers Tina Brice and Sharon Griffiths hand out free pocket ashtrays to Heather Jayne Hughes from Garnant and Stacey Strange from Glanamman at Tesco in Ammanford.
The council’s environmental enforcement officers issued the fixed penalty notices in Quay Street during a joint patrol with public protection officers.
Failure to pay could result in prosecution in the magistrates court where the maximum fine is £2,500.
It coincides with a council campaign, supported by Tidy Towns, to raise awareness of smoking-related litter. On the same day council education and awareness officers were in Tesco in Ammanford handing out free pocket ashtrays.
Discarded cigarette ends make up the largest proportion of litter in Carmarthenshire with visible evidence of smoking-related litter found on 83 per cent of the streets inspected by Keep Wales Tidy.
The council’s 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.
“We hope people will take notice of this campaign; we don’t want to fine people, but we will not hesitate to do so if they continue to litter in this way.”
Enforcement officers regularly carry out patrols across Carmarthenshire.
Council officers Tina Brice and Sharon Griffiths hand out free pocket ashtrays to Heather Jayne Hughes from Garnant and Stacey Strange from Glanamman at Tesco in Ammanford.
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