A CAPEL Hendre man has been fined £175 for dropping a cigarette butt from the open window of a car.

Nigel Wayne Phillips, of Brynteg, Capel Hendre, pleaded guilty by post to an offence of littering.

Llanelli Magistrates Court heard last Friday that on Tuesday, April 19 this year, Carmarthenshire County Council’s Environmental Enforcement Officers were on patrol in the Riverside Walk area of Ammanford, when they saw Phillips deposit a cigarette butt out of an open window of a vehicle.

Officers approached Phillips and explained what had been witnessed. Phillips conceded to depositing the litter and was subsequently issued with a £75 fixed penalty notice. He failed to pay the fixed penalty and was prosecuted.

Phillips, 38, was fined £175 and ordered to pay £205 costs and a £30 victim surcharge.

Council executive board member for environmental and public protection Councillor Jim Jones said: “It is against the law to drop litter and dropping a cigarette butt is just the same as throwing away any other sort of litter.

“Cigarette ends not only make an area look untidy but they are difficult and costly to clean up as they fall into grates and cracks in the pavement.

“The council has made it a priority to keep the county clean for both residents and visitors. Anyone caught dropping litter will be fined."