Three Christchurch residents are each £390 worse off following successful prosecutions for dropping cigarette butts.
The three – Sharon Skelton (42), Sam Dauncey (24) and Louise Kybert (22) – were caught separately dropping the butts in Saxon Square in August and September 2011. All three were handed fixed penalty notices for littering but failed to pay them.
They were sentenced at Bournemouth Magistrates Court on 1 February and each was fined £175 with a victim surcharge of £15 and costs of £200.
Lindsay Cass, Head of Environmental Services at the Christchurch and East Dorset Partnership, said: “Some people may not think of cigarette butts as litter but these prosecutions show that the courts agree with us that it is not acceptable to drop them.
“There is no excuse for dropping litter of any kind and we hope that these cases will serve as a reminder to people that they should put their litter in a bin or take it home.”
