Spitting Pair Are First Ever To Be Prosecuted

People spitting in the street can now be prosecuted for littering after a council won a landmark legal case.

Waltham Forest Council in London has become the first to successfully prosecute people for spitting in public.

Khasheem Kiah Thomas, 18, and Zilvinus Vitkas were fined and ordered to pay £300 each in total, including costs.

The council has been campaigning against spitting and issuing fixed penalty notices and £80 fines as part of its "Don't Mess with Waltham Forest" campaign.

Launched in July, it targets "enviro-crime" including spitting, litter, urination, dog mess, cigarette butts and takeaway litter.

The prosecutions against Thomas and Vitkas were the first to put it to the test but magistrates endorsed the council's approach.

Thomas, from Hackney, east London, was handed a fixed penalty notice in Leyton, east London, on February 20.

Vitkas, from Ilford in Essex, was caught seven days later in Walthamstow, north-east London.

Both men failed to appear at Thames Magistrates' Court on Friday and were found guilty in their absence.

Councillor Clyde Loakes, deputy leader and cabinet member for environment, said he was "absolutely thrilled" at the courts' support.

"Spitting in public is a foul habit and simply not acceptable on the streets of Waltham Forest in this day and age," he said.

We made a decision to use the powers we have at our disposal to crack down on this most unsavoury behaviour."

"We've been issuing £80 fines to people since February, but this is the first time a case has reached the courts.

"The magistrates didn't hesitate to concur with us that spitting could be classified as litter."

The Council has the power to act against spitting under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Section 87 states that it is an offence to "throw down, drops or otherwise deposits" litter and then leave it.

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles and Local Government minister Brandon Lewis have both expressed their support for action against spitting.