THREE people have been fined £75 after they were caught dropping cigarette ends by council environmental enforcement officers.

A man and a woman were issued with fixed penalty notices for dropping litter in Ammanford town centre and a further fixed penalty notice was issued to a woman at Cross Hands Business Park.

Failure to pay could result in prosecution in the magistrates court and a maximum fine of £2,500.

Executive Board Member for Environmental and Public Protection Cllr Jim Jones said: “Dropping litter is against the law and dropping a cigarette end is no different from throwing away any other sort of litter.

“Not only do they make an area look unsightly but cigarette ends are difficult and costly to clean up as they fall into grates and cracks in the pavement which makes them almost impossible to remove by normal cleaning methods.

“We do not want to fine people, but we are determined to keep Carmarthenshire clean for both our residents and visitors.”

Figures show that around 83% of all litter found on the county’s streets is smoking-related.