Carmarthen man fined for cigarette litter
A Carmarthen man must pay a total of £245 after dropping a cigarette end outside Coleg Sir Gar in Ammanford.
Jake Rhys Thomas, aged 22, of Russell Terrace, Carmarthen, pleaded guilty to an offence contrary to Section 87 of the Environmental Protection Act at Carmarthen Magistrates Court.
The prosecution was brought by Carmarthenshire County Council.
The court heard that council environmental enforcement officers were on patrol in Station Road in Ammanford when they saw the male front seat passenger of a vehicle parked at the entrance of the college throw a cigarette end out of the window.
He was issued with a fixed penalty notice for littering by the officers, however he failed to pay it within the specified time.
Thomas was fined £75 by magistrates and ordered to pay £150 towards prosecution costs and a £20 victim surcharge.
Executive Board Member for Environmental and Public Protection Cllr Jim Jones said: “Dropping litter is against the law and dropping a cigarette end is no different from throwing away any other sort of litter.
“Anyone caught by our enforcement officers will be given a fixed penalty notice or even prosecuted in court where the maximum fine is £2,500.”
Figures show that around 83% of all litter found on the county’s streets is smoking-related. Not only do they make an area look unsightly but cigarette ends are difficult and costly to clean up as they fall into grates and cracks in the pavement which makes them almost impossible to remove by normal cleaning methods.
Jake Rhys Thomas, aged 22, of Russell Terrace, Carmarthen, pleaded guilty to an offence contrary to Section 87 of the Environmental Protection Act at Carmarthen Magistrates Court.
The prosecution was brought by Carmarthenshire County Council.
The court heard that council environmental enforcement officers were on patrol in Station Road in Ammanford when they saw the male front seat passenger of a vehicle parked at the entrance of the college throw a cigarette end out of the window.
He was issued with a fixed penalty notice for littering by the officers, however he failed to pay it within the specified time.
Thomas was fined £75 by magistrates and ordered to pay £150 towards prosecution costs and a £20 victim surcharge.
Executive Board Member for Environmental and Public Protection Cllr Jim Jones said: “Dropping litter is against the law and dropping a cigarette end is no different from throwing away any other sort of litter.
“Anyone caught by our enforcement officers will be given a fixed penalty notice or even prosecuted in court where the maximum fine is £2,500.”
Figures show that around 83% of all litter found on the county’s streets is smoking-related. Not only do they make an area look unsightly but cigarette ends are difficult and costly to clean up as they fall into grates and cracks in the pavement which makes them almost impossible to remove by normal cleaning methods.
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