A Conservative councillor used receipts found in McDonald’s fast food bags to help trace a pair of litterers.
Tony Slater, who sits on the Cotswold District Council, helped catch the first of the two offenders while on a walk with his wife.
The pair were on a country lane when they spotted McDonald’s packaging on the side of the road.
After looking through the bag, they located the receipt which showed where and when the food was purchased.
Mr Slater told The Times: “I contacted the environmental health officer and he said ‘leave it with me and I will speak to McDonald’s’.
“He asked me to keep their receipt and recorded exactly where the bag was and what was in it, in case it went to court.”
After contacting the correct McDonald’s branch, the council was able to track down the details of the car.
This led the local authority to the owner, who was then issued a £500 littering fine.
Tony Slater helped track down two litterers
|
FACEBOOK/TONY SLATER
But Mr Slater’s detective work didn’t stop there, as he discovered another McDonald’s bag a few weeks later.
“It had a receipt in it and it was from another neighbour. They had to pay £500 as well,” he said, according to The Times.
Andrea Pellegram, the council’s cabinet member for the environment, urged residents to “responsibly” rid of their rubbish and report any dumped waste.
In 2023, the then-Tory Government increased the maximum amount local authority’s can fine those who litter from £150 to £500.
The two litterers received fines after being tracked down (file photo)
|
MIKE KEMP/GETTY
John Read, founder of national campaign group Clean Up Britain, believes anyone caught littering should be handed a minimum fine of £1,000.
Speaking to GB News last September, Mr Read said Britain is facing a “flytipping epidemic”.
He said printing car registration plates on fast-food wrappers could help act as a deterrent.
Mr Read told the People’s Channel: “There has got to be some level of jeopardy – people have got to feel there is a real chance of getting caught.
“We need politicians to step up and stop being so gutless and start implementing these things and that is what our campaign is all about.
“We just want to clean up Britain because it is absolutely filthy – it’s rancid.”
