Litterbugs fined for dropping cigarette ends

Eight people were fined at Rotherham Magistrates' Court for offences ranging from fly-tipping to dropping cigarette ends.

Coun. Jahangir Akhtar, Cabinet Member for Housing and Neighbourhoods for Rotherham Borough Council, said they might be small but cigarette ends make up a huge amount of the litter found on the streets of the UK and Rotherham.

He added:"A massive 122 tonnes of cigarette ends and other cigarette-related litter is dropped everyday in the UK - making it an on-going problem for local authorities to clear-up. In addition cigarette ends can take up to 12 years to degrade because every cigarette end contains up to 4,000 different chemicals including hydrogen, cyanide and arsenic, and the filters are made of cellulose acetate."

Those fined included:

Graham John Smith, of Wild Avenue, Rawmarsh, who pleaded guilty to  dumping household waste at Orgreave Lane, Rotherham, and was fined £200, with £160 costs and victim surcharge of £15.00. He apologised for his actions and said that he would never do it again.

Steven Bennett, of Walker Street, Swinton, failed to appear, but was found guilty in his absence of dropping an ice cream wrapper from a vehicle. He was fined £75, with a contribution towards prosecution costs of £60 costs and a victim surcharge of £15.

Cassandra Driver, of Armstrong Walk, Maltby, pleaded guilty to dropping a cigarette end in Rotherham Town Centre. She was fined £75, costs of £60 and a victim surcharge of £15.

Four more defendants all charged with the same offence, failed to appear but were convicted in their absence of dropping cigarette ends in Rotherham town centre.

They were:

• Julie Gibson, of Henley Rise, Thornhill. Fined £175, with costs of £180.74 and a victim surcharge of £15.
• Michael Middleton, of Broom Lane, Broom. Fined £175, with costs of £180.74 and a victim surcharge of £15.
• Amanda Bird, of Cherry Brook, Eastwood. Fined £175, with costs of £180.74 and a victim surcharge of £15.
• Mandy Smith, of Albert Road, Parkgate. Fined £75, with costs of £60 and a victim surcharge of £15.

A fifth defendant, Kieran Morris, of Roading Brook Road, Harwood, Bolton, also failed to appear but was convicted of dropping a cigarette end at the M1 Woodall Services and fined £75, with costs of £60 and a victim surcharge of £15.

On Wednesday, January 26,