Six people fined for dropping litter

SIX people have each been fined £75 for dropping litter in Llanelli.

The council’s environmental enforcement officers issued the fixed penalty notices as part of a litter clampdown in the town centre and Parc Trostre

Five of the tickets issued were for dropping cigarette ends and one was for dropping a cigarette packet wrapper.

Research shows that smoking-related litter makes up the largest proportion of litter in Carmarthenshire at 83 per cent of litter.

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

Carmarthenshire County Council has a launched a campaign to highlight the problem of smoking-related litter and encourage people to put their cigarette butts in the bin.

Executive Board Member for the Environment Cllr Philip Hughes said: “Many people do not think of cigarette ends as litter, but they are. They make an area look unsightly and they are difficult and very expensive to clean up – the ends fall into grates and cracks in the pavement which makes them almost impossible to remove by normal cleaning.

“Hopefully these fines will help to raise awareness of this type of litter. We do not want to fine people but we will not hesitate to do so if they continue to litter in this way.”