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Woman fined £1,500 for flicking cigarette from car window
Published 12:09 29 Dec 2022 GMT
Homenews
It's as authorities clamp down on 'grime crime'
A woman in East London has been fined a hefty £1,500 after flicking a cigarette on the ground from her car window. The fine is part of a clampdown from councils and authorities across the country on so-called 'grime crime.' Enforcement officers for Barking and Dagenham Council caught a driver dropping a cigarette out of the window of a Nissan Duke, MyLondon reports. This is a littering offence under section 87 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The owner of the vehicle, Maurine Bateesa, failed to provide details of the driver at the time the offence was committed, leading the council to hit her with the fine. Bateesa, from Barking, was issued with a legal notice to provide details of who was behind the wheel at the time of the offence. But despite a reminder and a notice of intended prosecution being sent, she failed to respond, and the case was referred to court.A hearing was held at Barkingside Magistrates Court on December 13, where Ms Bateesa failed to enter a plea.
In her absence, she was was ordered to pay £660 on top of costs surmounting to £840.
A £66 victim surcharge was also added to her final total.
Councillor Syed Ghani, of Barking and Dagenham Council, said: "The simple fact is this person is littering. It doesn’t matter if it’s a cigarette butt or a black bag.
"It’s a criminal act and we will not tolerate people treating our borough like a dumping ground.
"Grime crime is something our residents have told us is a top issue for them, which is why we take a zero-tolerance approach against those we catch in the act, and why we have increased our patrols and surveillance in problem areas.
"This person has learned an expensive lesson and we hope it sends a message to others in our borough."
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