Court fines man over cigarette litter

A Tranmere man who was spotted discarding a cigarette end onto the pavement outside Wirral Magistrates Court has been hit by a fine of more than £300 after failing to pay his fixed penalty for the offence. 

Daniel Peter James Caine of Pembroke Court was caught dropping the litter by officers from Wirral Council and their enforcement partners, NSL, on a joint patrol on Chester Street in Birkenhead in June 2011.  

He was challenged about his actions by the officers and issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice for £75 for the offence of depositing and leaving litter, a breach of Section 87 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The Fixed Penalty Notice fine would have been reduced to £50 he had paid within 10 days of the offence. 

However, Mr Caine did not pay this fixed penalty at all and so was subsequently summonsed to appear before magistrates. He did not attend court yesterday morning (7th February 2012) and was found guilty in his absence. 

Magistrate imposed a fine of £150 on Mr Caine and ordered him to pay a £150 contribution towards costs as well as a £15 victim surcharge. 

Cllr. Harry Smith, Wirral Council Cabinet Member for Streetscene and Transport Services, said: “Discarded items of litter - particularly things like cigarette ends - blight our communities and the message has to go out to people who are caught deliberately dropping litter that they will be fined. 

“This is another case where the flagrant disregard shown by the offender to the consequences of his actions has ultimately landed him with a much more severe penalty.”