Hornchurch man fined £1k for cigarette litter in Dagenham

A driver who dropped a cigarette from his window has been fined over £1,000.

Abdul Hasad Chowdhury, of Petworth Way in Hornchurch, was left with the hefty fine after police witnessed the driver litter from his blue Mercedes Benz on September 17, 2022.

At the time the 39-year-old stopped at the traffic lights on Whalebone Lane North, Dagenham, and disposed of the cigarette before driving off.

The courtesy car was traced to Chowdhury, who was initially issued a £150 fixed penalty notice for littering.

The driver tried to appeal the fine on the basis that it was a no-smoking courtesy car and claiming that he is not a regular smoker and normally vapes.

He also suggested he could not completely remember doing it.

But when the appeal was rejected and the case went to court, Chowdhury still refused to pay.

At Barkingside Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (June 20) the defendant was found guilty and ordered to pay a total of £1,147 – a fine of £230, costs to Barking and Dagenham Council of £825 and a victim surcharge of £92.

Councillor Syed Ghani, Cabinet Member for Enforcement and Community Safety said: “Dropping a cigarette on the floor or on our roads may seem like a harmless crime, but there’s no such thing and littering is a criminal offence.

“We won’t stand for people littering our streets and making them dirty and we will always take action if we witness it. This one cigarette has now cost this man over £1,000.”