Three £75 fixed penalty notices converted to £934 fines

THREE litter bugs have received heavy fines after failing to pay up when they were caught dropping cigarettes.

They were all spotted dropping cigarette litter: Ransom in Queens Road, Brighton; Conn in Goldstone Villas, Hove; and Noorani in Dyke Road, Brighton.

Each was handed a £75 fixed penalty last summer.

But after failing to pay up, Brighton and Hove City Council took them to court. The trio did not attend Brighton Magistrates' Court and in their absence each was ordered to pay a fine of £440 plus £450 costs and a £44 victim surcharge.

The defendants had the opportunity to plead guilty by post which would have resulted in a less severe penalty.

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