Nearly 100 people have been taken to court for unpaid fines and made to pay over £12,000 for littering across North East Lincolnshire between April and September this year.
Ninety-four people failed to pay their fines during this period, issued by the Waste Investigations Support and Enforcement (WISE) team in partnership with the City of Doncaster Council. This follows the WISE team starting patrols in the borough on 1 December 2023.
The charges arose because offenders did not pay the original Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) within the allotted time period when issued. Offenders were made to pay court fines ranging from £40 to £220, as well as costs and a surcharge payment. The total cost of these fines amounted to £12,198.
Those found guilty of littering are dealt with via the Single Justice Procedure (SJP), which allows magistrates’ courts to address minor offences more efficiently and quickly.
Here, a single magistrate and legal adviser can determine punishment for non-imprisonable offences such as littering or watching TV without a licence.
These cases do not require the defendant to appear in person, allowing them to plead online. Ultimately, this speeds up the process and allows large-scale offences, such as littering, to be dealt with quickly and easily.
Councillor Ron Shepherd, Portfolio Holder for Safer and Stronger Communities, said: “Almost 100 people being found guilty in court of littering shows how hard our colleagues are working to stamp out what is a massive issue.
“As a Council, we are committed to improving the borough’s environment by keeping the streets clean and maintaining the area as somewhere everyone can enjoy.
“We advocate a zero-tolerance model on issues like littering and are focused on providing quality enforcement to ensure we can successfully tackle these types of incidents.
“Our Street Cleansing teams work tirelessly to keep the borough litter-free, and it’s only right that residents do their bit by putting their rubbish in the bin.
“If you see fly-tipping or any other form of litter, we ask that you report it here. Also, if you are paying someone to remove your waste, then you must use a Registered Waste Carrier – external site – or you could be committing an offence.”
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