Man caught littering from a moving car faces bill of more than £800

A motorist caught throwing fast food packaging out of his car has been told to pay more than £800 after being caught on a police officer’s bodycam.

A spokesperson from North West Leicestershire District Council said: "Brendan Evans, 30, of Holly Road, Measham, was driving on Nottingham Road, Ashby on 13 September, 2019, when a police officer saw litter thrown from the moving car.

The officer, who filmed the incident on his bodycam, pulled Evans over to obtain his details which were then passed to the Environmental Protection Team at North West Leicestershire District Council to follow up.

He was issued a fixed penalty fine of £150 but the district council says he failed to make payment. They say Evans continued to ignore all correspondence from North West Leicestershire District Council, so he was taken to court.

Evans’ case was heard in his absence at Leicester Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday 23rd June, 2020, and no plea was entered.  Magistrates fined Evans £220, ordered him to pay costs of £580.25 and a £32 victim surcharge, totalling £832.25.

Councillor Andrew Woodman, Portfolio Holder for Community Services at NWLDC, said: “We have a beautiful district here in North West Leicestershire, and we all have a duty to look after it. Littering is lazy, harmful to our environment, an eyesore to us all, and will not be tolerated.

“We take all instances of littering very seriously and are not afraid to pursue cases where fines are not paid. This case has shown that we are serious about littering and that we work closely with partner agencies. Being in a car doesn’t mean you can escape a fine.

"While our enforcement officers do everything they can, our residents are also our eyes and ears and we actively encourage them to report incidents to us along with any evidence they have.”