Man fined for throwing litter in McDonalds car park

A MAN has been fined £350 and ordered to pay £474.71 court costs after being caught throwing litter in the car park of McDonald’s in Cross Hands.

Sean Naylon was convicted in absence and to an offence under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 at Ammanford Magistrates Court.

The prosecution was brought by Carmarthenshire County Council.

The court heard that Naylon, aged 43, of Dos Road, Newport, was issued with a fixed penalty notice of £75 by the council’s environmental enforcement officers. However he failed to pay it within the specified time and was prosecuted in the magistrates court as a result.

The council hopes this latest fine will act as a warning to would-be litterbugs that this type of anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated.

It follows a county-wide ‘Bin It’ campaign, supported by McDonald’s, to encourage people to dispose of their litter more responsibly.

Executive board member for the environment Councillor Philip Hughes said: “Dropping litter is against the law, whether it is discarding rubbish from a vehicle, throwing cigarette ends or spitting out chewing gum. If there are no bins nearby, then take your rubbish home with you to dispose of.

“We work closely with McDonald’s and other fast food restaurants and we would like to thank them for supporting our campaign. The council is determined to clean up the county and prosecute those that break the law, but we cannot do this on our own. We must all work together if we are to improve the environment in Carmarthenshire.”

The council’s environmental enforcement officers regularly patrol the county and anyone caught dropping litter can be fined up to £2,500.

McDonald’s Wales spokesman Marcus Crossman said: “No-one likes to see litter, it’s unsightly and damaging to the local environment but unfortunately it’s still out there. We share the frustrations of the vast majority of our customers who take pride in their local community and want to see an end to litter in their streets and parks. That’s why we send out daily litter patrols to help keep local areas clean and tidy and support a range of initiatives across Carmarthenshire. We will continue our work with local communities and the county council and if we all do our bit to tackle this problem, we can reduce the volume of litter and have a positive impact on our local environment.”