Essex taxi driver ordered to pay £765 for dropped cigarette butt

A Barking taxi driver has been ordered to pay more than £700 after he failed to reveal who was behind the wheel when a cigarette was tossed out of the car window. 

Emanuele Campagna was found to be the registered keeper of a silver Vauxhall Zafira, which Barking and Dagenham Council enforcement officers saw littering. 

Campagna was issued a Notice under Section 17 of the Greater London Council General Powers Act 1972, requiring him to provide details of who was driving at the time of the offence.

However, the 54-year-old ignored the legal notice, which is an offence punishable by a fine of up to £1,000.

Campagna pleaded guilty at Barkingside Magistrates Court on Friday, 31 January for failing to provide the driver details requested. He was ordered to pay £583 costs to Barking and Dagenham Council and a £32 victim surcharge, as well as a £150 fine.

Councillor Margaret Mullane, Cabinet Member for Enforcement and Community Safety, said: "We are committed to cleaning up our borough and making it an attractive place to work and live. Littering and fly-tipping are a blight on our communities and we simply won’t stand for it. 

“This individual thought he was above the law and could hamper our efforts to tackle grime crime by ignoring a legal notice.”