And, before anyone says 'and quite right too', remember this, the vast majority of litter is deposited late at night by people having take-away food and drinks.

This littering is never punished as the litter police are safely tucked up in bed and not prepared to tackle this type of miscreant.
Are these fines just, and a reflection of the offence committed? No! This is just another example of a government backed vendetta against smokers whom they wish to denormalise and socially engineer into their perfect citizen model, and it is being backed up by local government, the judiciary and magistrates.

We have progressed from being a nanny state to one of bullying.
Smokers have been driven out of venues that provided receptacles for used cigarette ends and, in using these venues; smokers were less inclined to smoke in the streets. Now they are out on the streets with a lack of waste bins that the same councils prepared to prosecute them, fail to provide.

As you will no doubt see from the tone of this letter, I do have an axe to grind and through your pages, I would like to add a footnote and address it to my local MP, Mr Mike Wood.

I would like him to go public and either confirm or deny, in writing to your newspaper, that there is a members' smoking room in the House of Commons.

I believe the answer is important to enable the public to establish if hypocrites are governing us or whether they work under the same legislation they have imposed.

So come on Mr. Wood, tell us the truth and remember, 25 per cent of the electorate smoke.

R CANNON
Filley Royd
CLECKHEATON