What you said about woman's cigarette butt fine

Mum-of-two Georgina Hewlitt-Leigh, 50, was handed the fine after dropping the remains of a used cigarette on the pavement outside the Yorkshire Building Society on Birley Street on Tuesday.

Coun Gillian Campbell, Deputy Leader of Blackpool Council, said: “People who drop litter are committing an environmental crime.

“Cigarette butts cost a lot of money to clean up as well as creating environmental problems.

“I am not going to apologise if somebody gets fined for breaking the law and I don’t expect anybody else from Blackpool would either.”

Here’s your comments

Well done Blackpool Council, her comment “it’s just habit” shows she drops litter all the time, once she has paid the fine plus court costs she won’t drop it again.

Stef B

I have no problem with the penalty, and would like to see many more of the same. It is terrible the way that many smokers regard the rest of the world as their ashtray.

Another Martonian

You don’t need signs to tell you not to drop your putrid fag ends on the pavement. It’s common sense

The Urge

What about all the massive amounts of chip and burger cartons thrown down on the prom at weekends,is anyone fined for that? If throwing a cig butt down gets an £80 fine, fish and chip wrappers should equate to a £1000 fine

ChrisW3

You say that there are no signs to advise that throwing your cigarette end on the ground will result in a fine. I was raised up being told that. Was called littering.

freddypug1

It may just be a cigarette end that she’s dropped but it’s the thin end of the wedge. Zero tolerance. Let’s make Blackpool as good as it possibly can be.

Right of reply

Rather harsh I feel, these enforcement agency workers have an incentive to book people and could use discretion rather than being heavy handed.

Surely if a visitor comes to the town drops a cig butt and then when pulled apologises and picks up the butt surely for the benefit of the town a reprimand would be a better response.

Blackpool Cardy

Typical reaction from a selfish person who clearly thinks she has done nothing wrong

Plessy

I went for a walk through Stanley Park today and saw a lowlife with two dogs letting one use the bowling green as a toilet. No reasoning with them Coun Campbell, no warnings, simply zero tolerance and fine them straight away

Sonya shoes

Quite right too. How would she like it if we all went to her home and dropped rubbish all over the place. Pay up and shut up. You won’t get any sympathy from us

Chester

Well done to the enforcement officers! Zero tolerance is exactly the right way then there are no grey areas. This woman is exactly the type that we should be discouraging from visiting the town, people who feel that they can come here & trash the place. OK, it was only a cigarette end but if she has a habit (as she says) of just throwing them on the floor, what else does she carelessly discard?

Peoplespoet

Now if gum droppers are caught too, Britain might actually start to look tidy

Sensei

She dropped litter so she was fined. It should happen more often. It doesn’t matter that it was “just” a cigarette end or the fact that she said it was “force of habit”; that in itself says a lot plus the fact that she thinks that unless there is a sign saying “don’t drop litter” it’s ok to drop rubbish all over the streets!

There are plenty of bins about - if there’s not one right in front of you, keep hold of your rubbish until you see one

Harry’s mad

No excuses! However, I would like to see the enforcers making some money ourside McDonalds!

Danny Gee

This is a good scheme but £80 for dropping one cigarette end is excessive.

Dave Fox

Have your day in court. I hope they increase the fine and award costs against the litterbug.

People like this cost Blackpool more indirectly than they bring to the resort. It isn’t just the cost of clearing up the mess but also the decent people it puts off visiting and the bad image of Blackpool that is further exacerbated.

Wrighty

Every day I see folk carelessly discarding their fag ends in town. I hope this article makes some on them think again. As for Georgina, pay up love.

Bartok

Just think how much money could be made in fines from the drunks dropping cigarette ends. Then again would the enforcers be brave enough to take on a few drunks or prefer to stalk easier targets.

It would be interesting to see how many men and how women were fined.

Psychy