A driver has been ordered to pay more than £1,500 after failing to provide information to Barking and Dagenham Council during an investigation into a littering offence. 

The council’s environmental enforcement officers witnessed a cigarette being thrown from a white Ford Transit travelling along Green Lane, Dagenham, in May 2025. As part of the investigation, the registered keeper of the vehicle, Naurinder Pall Sharma, of Brownlea Gardens, Ilford, was served with a legal notice requiring him to provide details of who was driving the vehicle at the time. 

Despite being given multiple opportunities to respond, Mr Sharma failed to provide the information requested. He was subsequently prosecuted and pleaded guilty in absence at Barkingside Magistrates' Court on 21 July 2026. 

The court ordered Mr Sharma to pay a £293 fine, £1,121.35 in council costs and a £117 victim surcharge, bringing the total to £1,531.35. 

Councillor Syed Ghani, Cabinet Member for Enforcement and Community Safety, said: "Keeping Barking and Dagenham clean is everyone's responsibility – it starts with us all. Whether it's littering or failing to comply with a legal notice, we will investigate offences and take action where necessary.”

The council is urging residents to report littering, fly-tipping and other environmental offences in their local area to help keep the borough clean: www.lbbd.gov.uk/report-problem.