Litter lout smokers pick up costly tab
Hundreds of pounds in fines slapped on four caught dropping ciggies
Smokers have been left to pick up expensive tabs each after they were caught dropping cigarettes.
All four have hundreds of pounds of fines and associated costs to pay after they were taken to court by Sunderland City Council.
After the cases were dealt with by Sunderland magistrates, the council said: “We are not prepared to see people treating our city like a dustbin.”
Catherine Trott, of Elmwood Avenue, Marley Potts, Sunderland, was fined £150 for littering plus a £30 surcharge and ordered to pay £85 costs.
Magistrates heard how Trott was smoking in Park Lane on April 24 last year and then dropped her cigarette on the ground before entering a shop.
Beverley Armstrong, of Redhill Road, Red House, Sunderland, was fined £150 for littering plus a £30 surcharge and ordered to pay costs of £85 after dropping her cigarette on the ground in Crowtree Road on June 20 last year.
Gemma Potter, of Portland Road, Plains Farm, Sunderland, was fined £150 for littering plus a £32 surcharge and ordered to pay costs of £85 after she dropped her lit cigarette in High Street West on July 2 last year.
Ryan Arkley, of 35 Preston Hill, Moorside, Sunderland, was fined £150 for littering plus a £32 surcharge and ordered to pay costs of £85 in Market Square on July 9 last year.
The £150 standard fine was doubled by the council two years ago after it backed the Echo’s ongoing Clean Streets campaign to keep Sunderland’s streets tidy.
All four smokers were spotted by council enforcement officers near to bins with ashtrays on top.
Their cases were taken to court after they ignored correspondence about £150 fixed penalty notices.
None of them attended court and were all found guilty in their absence.
Commenting afterwards, the city council's cabinet member for environment and transport, Councillor Amy Wilson, said: "The message from the city council, the magistrates' court and thousands of residents is that we are not prepared to see people treating our city like a dustbin.
"We are continuing to take enforcement action against people we catch dropping litter.”