IF YOU’RE tempted to throw away a cigarette butt in the Vale of White Horse, you might end up dealing with these two.
Enforcement officers Colin Marshall and Gary Marcham have adopted a get-tough approach on those who flout the law by dropping cigarette butts, letting their dogs foul the pavements and throwing trade waste on to the streets.
The pair, who work full-time, patrol Abingdon, Wantage, Grove, Faringdon and Botley.
They have issued 137 fixed penalty notices in the past two years, netting the district council about £10,000 in litter fines alone.
Mr Marshall said: “We take a hard line on cigarette littering.
“If there is a bin nearby, we expect the person to use it. If they drop it on the floor, we approach them and fine them.
“There is no leniency unless there is not a bin nearby, or we have run out of portable ashtrays, which we give free to smokers.”
People caught dropping cigarettes are given a £75 on-the-spot fixed penalty, which, if paid within 10 days, is reduced to £50. The first case of cigarette littering to end up before magistrates was that of Deborah March, 45, of Daisy Bank, Abingdon.
When she did not pay the fixed penalty, the council took her to court, where she was fined £115 with £100 costs.
The district has about 300 bins, of which 100 have stub plates for smokers to put out their cigarettes.
Mr Marcham, who joined the team in April this year — and smokes himself – said: “There's no excuse to drop cigarette ends. If there's not a bin nearby, stub it out and hold on to the end until you're near a bin and then dispose of it.”
They wear green jackets, green T-shirts, black trousers and black boots and are armed with cameras, portable ashtrays, fine books, notepads and mobile phones.
Mr Marshall said that people could sometimes be abusive, but usually accepted they were at fault.
He said: “We are highly visible and not discreet. We are surprised by the amount of people who drop rubbish right in front of us.
“A lot of people dispute their fines, saying that dropping cigarettes is not rubbish.
“The case goes to court, it is proven and their fines are increased.
“A lot of our work is based on what the public tells us. We go in to local shops and talk to shopkeepers who tell us where hotspot areas are and we investigate them.”
Although cigarette butt dropping is a particular scourge, they also watch out for illegal dog fouling, fly tipping, and businesses putting commercial rubbish in household bins. School visits are also part of their job.
Anyone caught not cleaning up dog mess is issued with a £50 on-the-spot fine. Since 2007, the council has issued three fines.
Those caught illegally dumping trade waste are fined £300.
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