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More on KentOnline
A man has been fined almost £800 after being caught urinating on the side of a building.
Stephen Childs was hit with the penalty after being caught spending a penny against the wall of a cattery in Ashford.
Folkestone Magistrates' Court heard that the South Ashford man had urinated against the wall of the RSPCA Ashford Garden Cattery.
The act in Station Road – which took place just past noon on August 25 lest year – fell afoul of a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO).
Ashford Borough Council (ABC) took the case to court, during which it was heard that Childs admitted "urinating as charged" to a police officer at the time.
The case was proved and Childs – who did not attend court – was fined £100, ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £34, and the council's legal costs of £651, resulting in an overall fine of £785.
This is the second case of anti-social behaviour being punished in the town by ABC after a resident was fined almost £3,000 for leaving a trailer full of rubbish blocking a pavement.
Kelly Michelle Smith was charged with failing to comply with a Community Protection Notice after she left a loaded trailer of black bags at the back of a property in Kilndown Close.
After council officers served a notice instructing Smith to remove the trailer, she duly did so but left the rubbish piled on the pavement.
The council took the case to court and had it proved in Smith's absence when she failed to attend.
She was billed a total of £2,770.77 comprising a fine, legal costs, a victim surcharge, clear-up costs and the costs of three council officers’ time in investigating the case.
Cllr Andrew Buchanan, ABC’s portfolio holder for the environment, says both prosecutions "send a very clear message that anti-social behaviour will simply not be tolerated in our borough".
“Community Protection Notices and Public Spaces Protection Orders are effective tools in our armoury," he added. "And we will not hesitate to take further action against people who show no consideration for others in our communities.”
