A man who refused to put a cigarette butt in a bin he was standing next to because it was “too far away” has ended up paying more than £700 to the courts.

Robert Sana was just inches away from the bin in Parrock Street, Gravesend, when Gravesham council environmental enforcement team officers spotted him chuck the litter on the floor.

They challenged him and encouraged him to put it in the bin but he said it was too far away. He then got into a vehicle and drove off.

Not knowing who the offender was at this stage, investigations were carried out and the culprit was identified as Robert Sana, of Kitchener Avenue, Gravesend, and he was issued with a fixed penalty notice.

Sana failed to pay and was summonsed to appear at Medway Magistrates’ Court on Friday, July 14. He failed to appear and was found guilty of the littering offence – which happened on November 4, 2022 – in his absence.

Sana was fined £150 and ordered to pay £500 costs and a £60 victim surcharge.

In a separate case, in January last year environmental enforcement officers received reports of rubbish being left outside flats in College Road, Northfleet.

The offence was witnessed and caught on CCTV and the vehicle involved traced to Bebi Ibram of London Road, Swanscombe.

He was served with documents relating to the offence, however he did not respond.

Officers attended Ibram’s home but he fled and tried to hide in a nearby garden. He was found – and was holding the documentation he had originally been sent.

After being summonsed to court for fly-tipping, as well as obstruction of the investigation, Ibram failed to attend the hearing in November and a warrant for his arrest was issued.

He was later found and detained by Kent Police Rural Task Force before being bailed to attend Medway Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, July 11, where he failed to appear again. He was found guilty of the offences in his absence.

He was arrested again and appeared in court on Wednesday, July 19 where he was handed a 15-month community order, with 30 hours’ unpaid work and a 10-day rehabilitation requirement.

He was also fined £1,969, ordered to pay costs of £1,855 and a victim surcharge of £114.

Cllr Shane Mochrie-Cox, Gravesham council’s cabinet member for strategic environment, said: “Our Environmental Enforcement team continues to do excellent work in tracking down and taking action against those who spoil our local environment through fly-tipping and littering.

“As these successes show, it doesn’t matter how big or how small the case, where we have evidence we will pursue it through to a successful conclusion, and we are grateful for the support of our colleagues at Kent Police in helping us bring offenders to book.”