Friend with council FPN for littering a cigarette butt

[belgarion22]

A friend of mine has asked me how they could defend themselves from a fixed penalty notice as it going to court on Friday and they only got the summons on Monday.

 

they have been issued with a notice for littering by dropping a cigarette butt on the floor to put it out before putting it in the bin.

 

she has sent numerous emails to the company running the enforcement on behalf of the council

 

has been told the penalty has been issued correctly and will stand, and that there is no right of appeal and the only two options are to pay or go to court. 

 

there is a error in the notice in that the address of the offence is incorrect.

 

also they have claimed that there is video evidence and despite requests for the video it has not been forthcoming.

 

they say that the video will only be available once a summons has been issued.

 

she has tried the CAB and various solicitors the former saying that as it is a criminal matter the don't help and the latter saying insufficient time to prepare

.

any help would be appreciated 

[unclebulgaria67]

Depends. Could attend court and make the case that the cigarette butt was dropped and quickly put in the bin. Therefore there was no littering and therefore no damage to the environment.

 

You don't need to drop a cigarette butt to put it out.  On the bins, there is commonly a part to put it out, before putting in the bin.

 

The accusation will be that your friend was caught littering and only when challenged did they put it in the bin.  Does the enforcement agent have CCTV or bodycam proof that your friend deliberately threw the butt onto the floor ?

 

Could they explain that they accidently dropped the butt and then picked it up to put in the bin ?

 

If you friend was caught in the act of throwing the butt on the floor deliberately, I would suggest paying the penalty and not going to court, as the costs will then increase the amount payable.

[Man in the middle]

As above, the offence is dropping litter and leaving it. There has to be evidence that the litter was left, not merely that somebody believed it might be left.

 

What exactly has your friend been sent? Summonses are no longer used for most offences now. If it is "going to court" she should have been served with the evidence that  the prosecution will rely on to secure a conviction and that should include a statement from the officer explaining what was witnessed. 

[belgarion22]

The evidence is witness statements and the email correspondence back and forth between her and the company working on behalf of the council.

 

She sent a summons through the post.

 

She has been told they have video evidence but no mention of this on the court documents as evidence 

[Man in the middle]

Without seeing the statements it is difficult to say whether they would secure a conviction. Any video evidence cannot be used in court unless it is served on your friend before she enters a plea. The hinge of this case will be, from what you have said, whether there is evidence to support the fact that your friend "left" the litter (and not that some jobsworth believed it might be left).

 

Is what she has received definitely a summons? You could try posting it up here (suitably redacted) but if the court hearing is tomorrow I doubt there's time to do that. At least if you could tell us what it says (exact words) it might help. What is your friend proposing to do? 

[dx100uk]

Read upload.

Pdf only please

 

Dx

[belgarion22]

statement of witness

statement of witness.pdf

[honeybee13]

So they seem to have filmed it?

 

HB

[belgarion22]

They are not relying on video evidence tomorrow just the statements

[Manxman in exile]

You have left your friend's name and full adress visible in that PDF.  (You obviously didn't read all of it before uploading it... )   Also the name of the council's witness.  I suggest you correct it ASAP.

 

What is your friend's defence to the charge?

 

As @Man in the middle asked, what has your friend actually been sent telling them to be in court?

[dx100uk]

pdf hidden.

[Man in the middle]

It's still not clear what your friend has been sent. Cases like this do not usually start with a summons.

 

But no matter. If your friend really is appearing in the Magistrates' Court, there are two options:

 

1. Plead guilty and be sentenced.

 

2. Plead not guilty and have her case set down for trial at a later date.

 

To defend this she will have to cast doubt on the evidence in the officer's statement (which clearly states that the litter was discarded and left). This can be done by asking him to attend court and cross examining him. This is not an easy task. But if it is not done successfully a conviction will almost certainly follow. Your friend can give evidence that she did not drop the litter and leave it and it will be up to the court which version they believe (with your friend being given the benefit of any doubt the Magistrates may have).

 

This decision will have to be made before the court appearance.

[dx100uk]

i have sorted the pdf for you

[belgarion22]

Hi All 

 

Sorry it all went quite, thank you for al your help.

 

Turns out it was just to appear before the magistrates for Guilty/Not Guilty she plead not guilty so going to trial on June. i think she now has legal representation.

 

Again thanks for all the advice