Woman must pay £270 after dropping cigarette litter

WARRINGTON council has successfully prosecuted a person who failed to pay a fixed penalty notice for dropping cigarette litter.
Nicky Toth, 45 of Gordon Street, Leigh, was found guilty in her absence at Warrington Magistrates’ Court for an offence under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, section 87, which is littering.
Toth deposited cigarette litter on Scotland Road on June 20 last year. She was issued with a fixed penalty notice of £75 which she failed to pay, despite two reminders.
She was fined £150 with a victim surcharge of £20 and the council was awarded £100 in costs. A total payment of £270 has been ordered to be paid in 28 days.
Pete Astley, (pictured) assistant director for regulation and public protection, said: “The message is simple: Think before you mess up our streets. Put your litter in the bin and if you don’t, your carelessly dropped litter could cost you £75 or even more. We are taking a tougher stance against littering and will be issuing fixed penalty notices to those who are caught dropping litter.
“The council currently spends more than £600,000 a year dealing with litter and fly tipping and it simply isn’t fair that taxpayers should be forking out large sums of money every year because a minority of the population drop litter and don’t look after the community.”