Published on 1st February 2018

Used cigarettes in an ash tray

Two people have been issued with fixed penalty notices in the past two weeks, for dropping cigarette ends on the public highway.

Both were witnessed by the council’s community protection officer dropping the remains of a cigarette immediately next to their places of work.  The first incident took place on Post Office Lane and the other on the Promenade.

In both cases, community protection officer, Clive Evans waited to see if they would return to pick up the litter but they did not and were issued with fixed penalty notices.  The fixed penalty notice carries a penalty of £80 that is reduced to £50 if early payment is made.  If a payment is not made, the council will refer the case for legal proceedings.

Mr Evans said:  ‘’These turned out to be costly cigarettes. Hopefully this will remind people that littering of any kind is not acceptable and action will be taken against those who flout the law.’’

Councillor Andrew McKinlay, cabinet member for development and safety added: ‘’We put a lot of resources in to keeping the streets safe, clean and tidy. We will take a zero tolerance approach to anyone who is caught disposing of their litter in an irresponsible way.’’

People are also reminded that depositing cigarettes ends down drains can cause blockages as they prevent rain water from escaping fully into the drainage system. Cigarettes should be safely disposed of using cigarette stubbers or litter bins (using the area on top of the bin to stub them out before throwing in with the waste.) Please ensure for safety reasons that cigarettes are completely put out before disposal.

For press enquiries contact: Katie Sandey, communications and web team leader, telephone 01242 775037 or email: [email protected]