Man caught littering sees penalty soar to more than £1,100 after failing to pay Fixed Penalty
A man who failed to pay a simple £150 Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) for littering in March 2024 has paid a hefty price for his crime, as the costs rise to more than £1,100 in court.
Ricardo Allen of Hawkins Road, London, was convicted of an offence of littering in his absence, at Wycombe Magistrates Court on 16 October 2024.
The court heard that on Wednesday 6 March 2024, a vehicle was recorded littering on Broughton Lane, Aylesbury. The offence was recorded by a dashcam provided by another driver. The footage played a key role in the investigation, capturing the offence and an image of the litter being discarded from the window.
The vehicle was traced to Allen who attended an interview in Aylesbury, where he was shown the dashcam footage. The litter consisted of food waste, specifically takeaway packaging containing chicken bones. The driver received a £150 Fixed Penalty Notice for the littering offence, however, he refused to pay. In cases like this, Buckinghamshire Council gathers sufficient evidence to prosecute in the event of non-payment and as this happened in this instance, there was no choice but to initiate court action.
On Wednesday 16 October 2024, the evidence was presented at a hearing held in the defendant's absence, as he chose not to attend the court. The court found Mr Allen guilty. Legal costs were imposed, totalling £798.96, which additionally included a fine of £220 and a victim surcharge of £88.00. Allen was ordered to pay the total amount of £1,106.94 within 28 days.
Thomas Broom is Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change & Environment, he said: “Littering doesn’t just harm the environment, it can also lead to a significant financial penalty. The impact is often greater than people realise. Fixed Penalties are issued to allow offenders an opportunity to discharge their liability and avoid a criminal record. Ignore the fixed penalty at your peril – we will always pursue justice! Even better still, don’t litter in the first place!”
Thomas added, “Our ‘For Bucks’ Sake’ campaign aims to reduce littering and keep Buckinghamshire beautiful. The message is simple - we won’t tolerate littering in Bucks and wherever possible, we will clamp down hard on those who do. If you are one of the 70,000 dashcam users in Bucks, please help us by supplying footage if you film someone dropping litter from their vehicle in Bucks.”
Buckinghamshire Council has a zero-tolerance approach to litter and (since the offending in this case) has increased Fixed Penalty Notices from £150 to £500. The increase happened in July 2024. After being taken to court, the offender in this case was ordered to pay more than double the new Fixed Penalty rate.
If anyone wishes to provide Buckinghamshire Council with evidence of littering taking place, including incidents captured by vehicle dashcam contact Buckinghamshire Littering Enforcement Team by email: [email protected].
Incidents can also be reported using Fix my Street https://fixmystreet.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/
You can watch the dashcam footage here: https://youtu.be/xpCR-TZSmWc