Smoker ordered to pay £800 after discarding cigarette butt as council issues ‘warning to others’
A Croydon man has been ordered to pay more than £800 after dropping a cigarette butt in Bromley town centre.
Carl Smith, 31, from New Addington, was prosecuted after failing to pay an initial £100 fixed penalty notice for littering in Market Square on May 23 this year.
The case was heard at Bromley Magistrates’ Court on December 3, where Smith pleaded guilty to breaching Section 87 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The prosecution is one of twelve carried out by Bromley Council since September for littering offences.
Smith was ordered to pay a total of £833, consisting of a £293 fine, a £117 surcharge and £423 in costs, to be paid by January 14.
The case follows two similar incidents last month where a Lewisham woman and an Orpington man were each ordered to pay £731 for dropping cigarette butts in the borough.
The twelve prosecutions for littering made by the council since September have resulted in offenders paying a combined total of £6,129 to date.
Conservative Councillor Angela Page, Executive Councillor for Public Protection and Enforcement, said: “We have no desire to prosecute anyone, but littering is a serious problem and a criminal offence, with street cleaning costs running into millions.”
“We would encourage everyone to find a litter bin or take their rubbish home as we need to put a stop to littering in our borough…When our enforcement officers witness littering, a fixed penalty notice is issued, and prosecution will follow if this is not paid.”
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Speaking to MailOnline, Smith disputed the council’s version of events, claiming he had disposed of his cigarette down a drainpipe rather than on the pavement.
He alleged that an enforcement officer “grabbed” him during the incident, saying: “He put his arm around me and he goes ‘now I’m filming you’.”
Smith, who earns £1,500 per month, expressed shock at the final penalty amount, stating he was unaware of the court’s decision until contacted by media.
He claimed he had pleaded guilty expecting to receive a 30 per cent reduction in court costs. A Bromley Council spokesperson emphasised that street cleaning teams work seven days a week across the borough to keep streets neat.
The council warned that littering “undoes this work” and remains illegal, with enforcement officers authorised to issue fixed penalty notices to anyone caught in the act.
Officials stressed that those who fail to pay initial penalties will face prosecution, resulting in “considerably higher” fines and costs.
The case serves as a “warning to others to not discard unwanted items in the street, but to place them in a litter bin or take rubbish home,” the council added.