by Chris Hunter
chunter@thekmgroup.co.uk

Smokers say they are being unfairly hounded by a council “cigarette police force” which has issued more than 1,000 fines in under three months.

While none could argue with the basic principle behind the council’s push to stop people dropping cigarette butts around the town, some smokers believe the enforcement officers are stepping over the line and employing unfair tactics in the battle against littering.

Mrs A Ankers wrote to the Kent Messenger this week to say how she watched council wardens hiding out of view of elderly smokers at Maidstone bus station, then running to “pounce” on a pensioner when she dropped her cigarette last Friday.

She accused the wardens, who can issue an on-the-spot fine of £75, of turning a blind eye to youths for fear the younger smokers might not cooperate with enforcement.

In September we reported how the council had issued 626 fixed penalty notices for littering between 2008 and 2010, 95 per cent of which were for cigarettes.

But new figures show that since the launch of the No Ifs No Butts campaign in July this year, 1,233 fines have been issued, making the council a whopping £92,475.

Of those, 97 per cent were issued to smokers.

If people fail to pay up they will be taken to court and risk a fine of up to £2,500, costs, and a criminal record.

Another victim of the recent crackdown was Darren Llewellyn, who described how council officers shot out of nowhere to slap him with a fine when he dropped a cigarette.

Another, who wished not to be named, described how a group followed him as he walked down the road smoking a cigarette.

When he turned around he noticed council insignia on their uniforms, which had not been obvious from distanc, and realised they were enforcement officers.

He said the experience amounted to being followed for a crime you have no intention of committing adding: “It’s an obvious erosion of civil liberties.”
A council spokesman denied they were targeting a certain demographic or using unfair tactics.

She said: “Officers treat everyone the same. We will continue to seek out and fine everyone who drops litter. This anti-social behaviour is not acceptable and will not be tolerated.”

Maidstone council said officers do not receive a bonus for fining people.