England - best not to drop your butt anymore..

May 17, 2010 - Christchurch Borough Council issued a number of £75 (108.20 USD) fines during a clampdown in November and December 2009 but five had failed to pay. The five smokers have been prosecuted and fined after dropping cigarette butts in a Dorset town centre.

Instead, they were fined a total of £750 (1,082.13 USD) by Bournemouth Magistrates on Monday, with costs awarded to the council, making the total amount £885 (1,276.91 USD). The four men and a woman were from Christchurch and New Milton.

The council's solicitor, Peter Woodcock, said: "These convictions show that we are serious about prosecuting any irresponsible person who is caught throwing litter away on our streets. Christchurch, Bournemouth and New Milton are in Dorset County in Southwestern England. - see maps above right.

"Some people may not think of cigarette butts as being litter, but they are and there are plenty of bins around which people can use without having to litter our town."

The council said its civil enforcement officers issue fixed penalty notices for littering and dog fouling.

Reference: Prosecution over cigarette litter in Christchurch, BBC News, 5/14/2010.