Cigarette smokers beware - dropping a single fag end on the streets of Wandsworth could land you with a £200 fine.

Two smokers have been already been hauled before magistrates and each slapped with £200-plus fines.

Wandsworth's anti-litter squad hope the heavy punishments - described as the most expensive cigarettes they have ever smoked - will send a stark warning to smokers not to casually chuck their butts on the floor in public places.

The pair could have escaped with fines of just £55, but were taught an expensive lesson after they ignored their on-the-spot fines and saw them quadrupled by magistrates earlier this month.

Owen Bassett from Caterham in Surrey and Adolphus Bell from Beckenham in south east London were given fixed penalty notices that required them to pay an £80 fine within 28 days. The amount would have been discounted to £55 if settled within 10 days.

But after failing to pay up, Bassett, who had been caught littering outside the main entrance to Clapham Junction station, was fined £120, ordered to pay court costs of £100, and a victim’s surcharge of £15.

Adolphus, who was spotted dropping a fag end outside Balham Tube station was handed the same punishment.

Wandsworth Council's environment spokesman, Councillor Jonathan Cook, said: "These will no doubt have ended up being the most expensive cigarettes these two men have ever smoked.

"But they have only themselves to blame. Firstly they should never have dropped their waste on the ground and secondly they should have paid up when they needed to.

"At £55 it would have still been a costly cigarette never mind four times that price."

The borough is currently running an anti-litter campaign, having recently launched an operation at Tooting Bec Tube station which saw six litterbugs stung with on-the-spot fines.

Coun Cook added: "Discarded butts, matches, empty packets and their wrappers cost local council tax payers tens of thousands a year to clean up, and according to the environmental watchdog Keep Britain Tidy, this is fast becoming England’s biggest litter problem with 78 per cent of urban streets affected.

"Our simple message to people is that you can easily avoid being given a fine - and avoid harming the environment - by simply putting your rubbish in a litter bin."

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