22 people fined for throwing litter

TWENTY-TWO people have been fined for dropping litter in a county-wide crackdown to clean up the streets.

Council environmental enforcement officers carried out a mid-week blitz in Llanelli and Carmarthen town centres.

In total 22 fixed penalty notices for £75 were issued – of these 19 were specifically for dropping cigarette ends.

Failure to pay could lead to prosecution in the magistrates court and a maximum fine of up to £2,500.

It is hoped these latest fines will act as a warning to would-be litterbugs that this type of anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated.

The council’s director of technical services Richard Workman said: “I was astounded that of the 22 fixed penalty notices, 19 were for smoking-related litter. Many people do not think of cigarette ends as litter, but they are. They make an area look unsightly and they are very difficult and very expensive to clean up as the ends fall into grates and cracks in the pavement.

“We do not want to fine people, all we want is for our town centres to be clean and welcoming, but we will not hesitate to do so if people continue to litter.”

Research shows that discarded cigarette ends make up the largest proportion of litter in Carmarthenshire. An inspection by Keep Wales Tidy found that 83 per cent of the county’s streets had visible evidence of smoking-related litter.

Executive board member for the environment Councillor Philip Hughes said: “There is no excuse for littering our streets, not only is it a blight on the landscape, but it takes years to degrade, and can cause harm to wildlife.

“We want to raise awareness of this type of litter and encourage people to behave responsibly. The council is determined to clean up the county and prosecute those that break the law.”