Caerphilly County Borough Council has successfully prosecuted a Newport man for littering after he was seen dropping a cigarette butt on the floor.
Thomas Williams, of Hatherleigh, Newport, was seen by council workers dropping his cigarette outside the Crosskeys campus of Colege Gwent. The council issued Mr Williams with a fixed penalty of £75.
However, after non-payment of the fine, the council decided to take Mr Williams to court.
He failed to appear at a recent hearing at Caerphilly Magistrates Court and the case was heard in his absence.
He was found guilty of the offence, fined £100, and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.
Cllr Rob Gough, cabinet member for public protection said: “Littering is an offence that we at Caerphilly County Borough Council take seriously and we pursue these cases where non payment of fixed penalty notices occurs through the courts without exception. As we know, it is only a small minority who commit these offences and with the help of members of the local community we hope to stamp out this sort of behaviour.”