SMOKERS caught dropping cigarette butts in Bolton town centre have been fined in a new crackdown on littering.

Three people were ordered to appear in court and issued with fixed penalties as part of the council’s operation.

Paul Andrew Wood, of Ashton Road in Blackpool, pleaded guilty to throwing down a cigarette end in Back Cheapside on April 6.

He was ordered to pay £180 in fines and costs plus a £20 victim surcharge at Bolton Magistrates Court on Monday.

Leon Godding, of Cope Bank in Smithills, faced the same charge for dropping a cigarette end in Newport Street. He failed to attend court.

The 29-year-old was ordered to pay £220 in fines and costs plus a £20 victim surcharge.

Leanne Westock, of Millwood Close in Blackburn, also failed to appear in court.

The 27-year-old dropped a cigarette in Bark Street on May 5. She was ordered to pay costs and fines of £220 plus a victim surcharge of £20.

Council chiefs welcomed the fines. Cllr Nick Peel, executive cabinet member for the environment, said: “We have stepped up our operations on this issue.

“There will be other prosecutions and fines further down the pipeline.

“It’s not just cigarette butts, it is all kinds litter that some people just drop on the floor with impunity.

“They have no regard for spoiling the town for everyone else.

“The council will clamp down on it.”

The offenders were spotted by a council enforcement officer.

Earlier this month The Bolton News reported that litter in the town’s streets was on the up.

The cleanliness ‘pass rates’ for the town’s streets has slipped from 94 per cent in 2010 to 90 per cent for the past four years.

The drop is due to a reduction in street sweepers following cuts to Bolton Council’s budget.