LARGE fines have been issued to people caught dropping cigarette ends in Bolton.

Ronald Marron, aged 54, Marie Louise Jane Watt, aged 35, and Mohammed Sattar, aged 19, were all dealt with by Bolton Magistrates Court after being seen littering by a Bolton Council officer.

Marron, of The Crescent, Westhoughton, was seen dropping a cigarette butt in Meal House Lane, Bolton town centre, on October 24 last year.

Watt, of Nandywell, Little Lever, threw the cigarette end in Hotel Street, Bolton on October 11 last year.

Teenager Sattar, of Bolton Road, Salford, dropped the cigarette on November 19 last year in Deane Road, Deane.

All three defendants were found guilty in their absence at Bolton Magistrates Court. They were prosecuted after failing to pay fixed penalty notices.

Mrs Rosalyn Clark, chairman of the bench, sentencing, ordered all three of the people caught littering to pay a £200 fine, a £20 victim surcharge and £220 costs.

The prosecution follows five people being brought before Bolton magistrates last month for dropping cigarette ends and one woman for leaving litter outside her home, not in a bin.

Cllr John Byrne, Bolton Council’s cabinet member for community and neighbourhood services, said: “We take the issue of littering in Bolton very seriously and aim to reduce littering through both good quality education and robust enforcement.

“While a cigarette butt may seem small, clearing up litter costs the council more than £2.8 million a year.”