Woman fined for throwing cigarette end from car

A WOMAN has have been fined £75 for throwing a cigarette end out of a car window at McDonalds in Cross Hands.

The fixed penalty notice was issued by the council’s environmental enforcement officers who were on patrol in the area.

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

It follows the launch of a council campaign to raise awareness of smoking-related litter and encourage people to put their cigarette butts in the bin.

Executive board member for the environment Councillor Philip Hughes said: “There is no excuse for littering our streets. We want to raise awareness of smoking-related litter and encourage people to behave responsibly.

“Many people do not think of cigarette ends as litter, but it is. It makes an area look unsightly and it is difficult and very expensive to clean up as the ends fall into grates and cracks in the pavement.”

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.

The council’s director of technical services Richard Workman said: “Hopefully these fines will act as a warning to others that this type of anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated. We do not want to fine people but we will not hesitate to do so if they continue to litter in this way.

“We are determined to make Carmarthenshire a cleaner, greener and safer place to live and work for everyone.”