£300 kick in the butt for careless smoker

DANIELLE HARRISON

A SMOKER has been fined more than £300 for flicking a lit cigarette end from his car.

Rabnawaz Khan, of Lansdowne Terrace, Burton, was handed a fixed penalty notice in August last year after he was spotted throwing the butt out of his car window by an East Staffordshire Borough Council neighbourhood co-ordinator.

The 30-year-old had parked his Ford Mondeo on the double yellow lines outside the Neighbourhood Working Centre, in Victoria Crescent, Burton, when he committed the littering offence.

The co-ordinator, who works in the centre, then approached Khan, who initially denied the cigarette was his and later failed to pay his fine.

However, Khan was fined £150 for littering at a Burton Magistrates' Court hearing and ordered to pay £150 costs plus a £15 victim surcharge. He was not present in court.

Bernard Peters, the council's deputy leader for environment and leisure, said: "This serves as a stark warning to anyone caught dropping litter in East Staffordshire.

"The council is prepared to issue fines to anyone caught by our officers committing this offence and we will go on to prosecute anyone who fails to pay the fine.

"The choice is theirs: pay the £75 fine or risk ending up paying several hundred pounds in court or, even better, avoid any such action by not dropping litter at all.

"Keeping our streets clean, tidy and litter-free is everyone's responsibility.

"The council provides a more than adequate number of litter bins and it is up to members of the public to use them and have some pride in our environment."