Man to pay more than £800 after dropping cigarette

A man has been ordered to pay more than £800 after dropping a cigarette butt on the street.

Carl Smith, from New Addington in Croydon, south London, appeared at Bromley Magistrates' Court on 3 December after failing to pay a fixed penalty charge for dropping the butt, in Market Square in Bromley on 23 May.

He pleaded guilty to breaching Section 87 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and was ordered to pay £833.

This included a fine of £293 alongside a surcharge of £117 and £423 in costs, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The case was the 12th prosecution for littering made by Bromley Council since the start of September, with the offenders paying a combined total of £6,129.

The most recent incident follows two similar ones last month in which a Lewisham woman and Orpington man were each ordered to pay £731 for dropping cigarette butts in the borough earlier in the year.

Bromley Council's executive councillor for public protection and enforcement, Angela Page, said: "We have no desire to prosecute anyone, but littering is a serious problem... with street cleaning costs running into millions."

She added: "We would encourage everyone to find a litter bin or take their rubbish home as we need to put a stop to littering in our borough."

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