Have we really come to this? Considering there are very few trash cans in and around the UK (I was told that was to prevent places to hide bombs), you would think there is a little leeway here.
But then again, it is the Nanny State
Non-smoking grandad fined £50 for cig butt stuck to shoe
Grandad Ken Morris, 72, was walking through a town centre when he accidentally stepped on the discarded cigarette end.
A council officer spotted him picking off the dog-end and throwing it to the ground as he got into his car.
And the next day a demand for £50 arrived at his home in Trebanos, South Wales.
Ken paid the fine — even though he’s been a non-smoker for years and the butt was someone else’s litter.
He said: “I had to admit I was guilty even though the litter wasn’t mine.
“I did throw the cigarette butt on the floor so I put my hands up and paid the fine straight away.
“I have always been totally against dropping litter and always told my kids not to do it. I did it subconsciously.”
Mr Morris’s wife Sonia, 72, said it wouldn’t have happened if the local council kept the streets clean.
She said: “It is their fault the cigarette butt was on my husband’s shoe in the first place.”
Mr Morris was spotted by a council patrol officer while out shopping on April 17.
His fine said he was seen throwing a cigarette end at 10.01am before immediately driving off.
The litter fine arrived at his home the next day.
In the last year Neath Port Talbot Council issued 379 fixed penalty notices for littering, bringing in £14,225 in fines.
A council spokesman said: “All instances of littering have been witnessed by officers on general patrol.”
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