BRADFORD Council has thanked members of the public in the battle to stop littering from cars after information led to a hefty fine.

Maria Rooney, 38, of Sandgate Walk in Holme Wood, was left with a bill of £452 after failing to pay a £100 Fixed Penalty Notice for littering.

She was reported by a witness after she was spotted throwing a cigarette packet from the window of a parked car. The act was caught on CCTV camera footage.

She was issued a £100 Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) by Bradford Council for dropping litter from a vehicle, but did not pay it.

As a result Bradford Council took the case to Bradford Magistrates’ Court and a summons was issued.

She did not attend the hearing, which went ahead and was proved in her absence. She was fined £220, with £100 costs and ordered to pay a £32 Victim Surcharge.

Following the case, Cllr Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Healthy People and Places, said: “As we can’t have our staff everywhere, especially during the pandemic, we really need members of the public to act as our eyes and ears.

“We need to impress upon people that littering from cars is as anti-social as dropping litter on the streets or fly-tipping. None of us wants to live surrounded by mess caused by people who can’t be bothered to dispose of their litter responsibly.

“We don’t want to issue FPNs and we don’t want to take people to court. We want people to dispose of their rubbish properly instead of leaving it for someone else to clean up. It’s a simple solution to the problem.

“I would like to thank all those people who help us by reporting the anti-social minority so we can do something about it.”

In the last 18 months Bradford Council has issued 200 FPNs for littering from vehicles, using legislation brought in to avoid lengthy and expensive court proceedings.

It the penalties are not paid the case will go to court where the defendant can end up with a criminal record as well as a large financial penalty.

Any litter dropped from a vehicle will be treated as the responsibility of the keeper of that vehicle, identified through the licence plate number.

If the keeper cannot identify the actual person who dropped the litter they become liable for the offence.

 “If anyone sees anyone committing litter offences, we would ask them to report it to Bradford Council and we will take it from there,” said Cllr Ferriby.

For more information about reporting litter offences from vehicles please visit www.bradford.gov.uk or call 01274 431000.