Eight people who failed to pay an £80 fixed penalty notice for littering offences committed in Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough have learned a costly lesson after their cases were heard at Craigavon Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.
Each offender was ordered to pay £100 plus £137 costs – almost three times as much as the original penalty.
Following the proceedings, a council spokesperson said: “The verdict is in. It does not pay to discard litter irresponsibly in the borough and then to disregard the law when hit with a fixed penalty notice. As this latest swathe of cases show, the courts take a dim view of it and so do we.
“It’s high time that the minority of people, who commit such offences and think they will get off scot free, realise that that they will be pursued by the council, punished by the courts and end up paying substantially more.
“The message is clear. If you drop litter and show no regard for the environment, be prepared to pay the price for your actions.”
The council will be taking further action in the coming months against those do not pay fixed penalty notices for littering and dog fouling.
