Man fined more than £500 for dropping cigarette butt on the street

A man from Surrey has been fined £535 dropping a cigarette butt after he was prosecuted for littering.

Anthony Nevin, from Epsom, was found guilty and ordered to pay a fine of £50, a victim surchage of £30 and legal costs of £455 at Maidstone Magistrates' Court on 30 May.

He had failed to pay a fine of £80 after he was caught dropping a cigarette in Sittingbourne High Street last year.

Nevin pleaded not guilty to the offence of littering in March but failed to attend the trial on 30 May, where he was found guilty in his absence.

Emma Wiggins, interim director of regeneration at Swale Borough Council, told Get Surrey: "Some people might think that by ignoring the FPN, we'll forget about their offence and the problem will go away. This prosecution clearly shows that is not the case.

"We're determined to get the message through that we - and the overwhelming majority of people in the borough - won't tolerate littering on our streets."

The number of adult smokers in the UK is dropping. In 2015, 17.5% of all adults smoked in the UK, down from 20.1% of adults who smoked in 2010.