Woman fined for dropping cigarette end at bus station

A WOMAN has been fined £100 and ordered to pay court costs of £75 after dropping a cigarette end at Llanelli bus station.

Irene Elizabeth Lewis, aged 32, Bro Wen, Llwynhendy, was convicted in absence to an offence contrary to Section 87 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 at Ammanford Magistrates Court.

The prosecution was brought by Carmarthenshire County Council.

She was caught by the council’s environmental enforcement officers who were on patrol in the bus station area back in November.

Lewis was issued with a fixed penalty notice of £75. However, she failed to pay it within the specified time and was prosecuted through the courts as a result.

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

Director of Technical Services Richard Workman said: “There is no excuse for littering our streets.

“Many people do not think of cigarette ends as litter, but they are. It makes an area look unsightly and is difficult and very expensive to clean up as the ends fall into grates and cracks in the pavement which makes them almost impossible to remove by normal cleaning.

“We want to raise awareness of this type of litter and encourage people to behave responsibly.”

The council hopes this case will act as a warning to others that those caught throwing litter will be prosecuted. It follows a council campaign to raise awareness of smoking-related litter.

Executive board member for the environment Councillor Philip Hughes said: “We do not want to fine people but we will not hesitate to do so if they continue to litter in this way. The council is determined to clean up the county and punish those that break the law.”