Houghton Regis man fined after being caught littering on council CCTV
Wednesday, 14 August 2019
A local man captured littering on CCTV in Dunstable has been fined over £1,300, after he failed to pay the original smaller fixed penalty.
The incident occurred on 13 September 2018 in a car park located in Court Drive, Dunstable. Central Bedfordshire Council’s CCTV cameras provided clear evidence of paper and cardboard being taken from the vehicle and being thrown in the bushes.
Our environmental protection officers investigated and found that the vehicle license plate belonged to Mr Harry Lay from Houghton Regis.
Mr Lay was fined £80 for the offence, with the option to pay £50 if he settled the fine within eight days. However, he refused to pay, despite being sent numerous reminders.
At Luton Magistrates Court last week (8 August), Mr Lay admitted that the CCTV showed him littering and he pleaded guilty to the offence. He was ordered to pay total costs of £1,330.
Councillor Ian Dalgarno, Executive Member for Community Services at Central Bedfordshire Council, said:
This prosecution shows how useful our cameras can be in helping us to reduce crime, nuisance and anti-social behaviour and assist in securing prosecutions.
I would like to urge people to always dispose of their waste properly. Residents can do this through their regular bin collections, and if they have additional household waste or recycling this can be taken to their nearest household waste recycling centre.
Mr Lay ignored several opportunities to settle the original fine and left us with no option but to pursue this matter through the courts.
Littering is a deliberate and thoughtless act that impacts on the environment. Failure to dispose properly of any type of waste is simply not acceptable and we will take action against anyone caught - regardless of the type or quantity of discarded waste.
Residents can help us reduce this crime by reporting any incidents to our customer services team on 0300 300 8302 or by emailing customers@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk.