INSTANT FINE FOR LITTER LOUTS (From The Bolton News)

INSTANT FINE FOR LITTER LOUTS

LITTER louts caught in the act face £50 fines under tough new legislation designed to keep Bolton's streets clean.

Fixed penalty fines may soon be imposed on anyone caught dropping rubbish on to the borough's streets.

Anything from a dropped can or crisp packet to chewing gum or cigarette butt could result in a £50 fine under the "zero tolerance" crackdown. Litter wardens would be on patrol every day on the streets if council chiefs approve the proposals.

Fines would be collected in a similar was to parking penalties.

Litter louts would get a set period of time -- between 14 to 28 days -- to pay the fines before running the risk of prosecution and larger fines in court. In Salford, where a similar scheme has just been introduced, tickets are issued by police community support officers and officers from the council's own environmental services directorate.

The police are called to assist in any cases where people react threateningly or give false names.

Cathy Savage, manager of the Bolton Town Centre Company, today welcomed the news.

"It is definitely something that I would like to see and my feelings are shared by a lot of members of the public."

Dr Brian Iddon, Bolton South East MP, said: "Bolton is litter-ridden and I constantly see people dropping chewing gum. Something needs to be done, but people need somewhere to put their litter. There are not enough litter bins, particularly on the main roads.

"The scheme would have to be widely publicised and I would not like to see people prosecuted within the first few days. A simple tap on the shoulder and a warning, until everyone knows about it, will do."

Pressure group Keep Britain Tidy said all local authorities now have the power to enforce £50 on-the-spot fines under the Environmental Protection Act, 1990, but only a quarter of councils use them.

A similar scheme has run in Birmingham since April, 2002. A spokesman for Birmingham City Council said: "The fines are having an impact. They are keeping our streets cleaner and they are acting as a strong deterrent."

A Keep Britain Tidy spokesman said: "It is fantastic news that Bolton Council is working to adopt the scheme.

"Now all we need to see is some prosecutions and fines to drive the message home. Dropping litter can and should result in a fine of £50. That is the message we want to get over to the public."

The news in Bolton comes as Salford Council announced it was set to deploy 16 litter wardens -- a mix of council staff and police community liaison workers -- to issue £50 fine notices.

From August 1, anyone aged over 14 caught dropping litter in public can be charged.

Litter levels have been a long-standing problem in Bolton.

However, Bolton Council were runners-up in this year's People and Places Awards, for environmental standards, where judges described Bolton "one of the greenest towns in Britain".

Council officers have spoken at more than 30 school assemblies in the town to hammer home the environmental message and encourage children to take part in litter collecting.

In a statement, the council today confirmed that it is looking at bringing the scheme to Bolton.

A spokesman said: "The council is actively looking at how we can implement fixed penalty fines for littering.

"We want to make sure that when we do it, we do it properly and it is workable. The final decision on how we go about it will be made by the Executive Member responsible for the scheme."

Nationally, figures reveal that it costs £10,000 to clean chewing gum off the roads and pavements in a town centre in a single sweep using a water pressure spray.

It also costs taxpayers £413 million per year to keep the country's streets clean. Councils receive 80,000 litter complaints each year and between 25 to 30 million tonnes of rubbish is collected -- that figure in 1960 stood at five million tonnes.