Litter enforcement officer said I had committed a crime as soon as the cigarette hit the floor

Phill Clarke, the retired former manager of The Pantry food bank in Fleetwood, says he had become concerned that enforcement officers, contracted by Wyre Council, were unfairly targeting vulnerable people using the amenity.

He then fell foul of an operator himself when he was issued with a fixed penalty notice after he was told he was guilty of littering with a cigarette.

Mr Clarke, 62, of Carleton, said: “They are terrorising the town by being overzealous because they are chasing targets.

“I had to put a special bin outside The Pantry to try and protect people using the foodbank from being pounced on by enforcement officers who were lurking nearby, ready to hit them with a fine.

“Some of them are vulnerable people with issues.

“I can speak of personal exerience after the same thing happened to me.

“When I pulled up in my car, as I was getting out, I put my cigarette on the ground and stubbed it out before getting some work stuff out of the car, intending to pick the butt up and put it in the special bin.

“I never intended to leave the cigarette there, I put the bin there for that very reason.

“Within a minute, a member of the cigarette police was there, accusing me of littering. He said I had committed an offence as soon as the cigarette touched the ground.

“He refused to accept what I was saying, even when I told him I was ready to put it in the bin."

The fixed penalty notice incurs a £100 fine, redued to £80 for an early payment.

Mr Clarke has contested the fine.

Join our new WhatsApp Community to get the latest news and top stories from across Lancashire directly to your phone. The scheme, operated by a private and for-profit firm on behalf of Wyre Council, was first introduced in 2018 and has seen thousands of residents and visitors fined for littering.

It is currently being carried out by a firm called WISE (Waste Investigations Support & Enforcement).

WISE and Wyre Council have both been approached for a comment.