Woman slapped with £500 fine after she dropped cigarette outside Primark store

21 February 2023 , 14:20

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A woman was fined £536 for dropping a cigarette (Image: Getty Images)

A woman's momentary mistake ended up costing her more than £500 after she dropped a cigarette on a busy high street.

Stacy Furmage was fined a total of £536 by magistrates after she dropped the cigarette outside a Primark store in Hounslow, west London.

The 26-year-old was hauled before the courts over the littering offence back in December 2021.

Ms Furmage was fined £220 at Ealing magistrates court for throwing and leaving the litter on the ground.

Magistrates at the administrative hearing on February 13 also fined her a further £34 victim surcharge and £282 in court costs, resulting in a total fine of £536 to be paid by March 13 this year.

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The woman's momentary lapse in judgement with her cigarette ended up costing her a small fortune (stock image) (Getty Images/EyeEm)

It comes after several stories where Brits ended up having to shell out hundreds for petty litter crimes.

Kent grandmother Susan Watson was slapped with a £100 littering fine after she was spotted scattering bread crumbs for ducks by a riverside last month.

The 68-year-old dementia nurse was walking along the River Medway on January 31 when she stopped to tear of a slice of bread for the birds, but was spotted by a council officer who promptly marched over to give her a ticket.

"He went on to say that what I did could be seen as fly-tipping, which is a much bigger offence," she said. "It was one slice of bread."

Pensioner William Varnham was fined for the same thing when he got a £150 penalty for feeding ducks at Watermead Country Park in Leicester, where he and his wife fed them birdseed.

But it's not just people leaving potential litter who've been hit with extortionate fines.

One woman told how a selfless act picking up rubbish strewn outside her home by foxes ended up costing her £400.

Olivia Post helped tidy a car park near her home after the mess was left by vermin, only for the bag to be torn open again leading her to get a hefty fine.

Letters revealing Ms Post's name and address were found by the council, who sent an officer to her home where she was issued a fine.

Olivia told Wales Online: “It’s really upsetting, I hate litter, I find it really distressing. I’m really unhappy about flytipping and you can see that by virtue of the fact I am out there cleaning up. I can’t believe it.

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When Ms Post tried to appeal she was told over email that her only recourse was taking National Enforcement Solutions to court.

Susie Beever