Pair fined £155 each for dropping cigarette butts in Gosport high street

TWO people who dropped cigarette ends in Gosport have been told to pay £155 each by a court.
Portsmouth Magistrates Court.

Picture: Cesar Moreno HuertaPortsmouth Magistrates Court.

Picture: Cesar Moreno Huerta
Portsmouth Magistrates Court. Picture: Cesar Moreno Huerta

Anthony Richards and Rebecca Aitken, both from the town, were seen dropping the cigarettes outside Costa on High Street by a borough council officer.

They were both given £75 penalty notices, which reduce to £50 if paid immediately, after the offence on October 25 last year.

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But Richards, 24, of Queen’s Road, and Aitken, 19, of Mumby Road, failed to pay the notice.

They were due to appear at Portsmouth Magistrates Court last week on charges of dropping litter but failed to appear.

They were found guilty in their absence and ordered to each pay a £75 fine, £50 prosecution costs and a victim surcharge of £30.

Stevyn Ricketts, the council’s head of Streetscene, said: ‘Even small bits of litter add up and have an effect on the appearance of our borough.

‘If we spot people dropping their rubbish in the street we will take action.’