Labour soft on litter louts - Lib Dems call for zero tolerance

12.46.26pm UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 18th Sep 2006

Only 55% of fines handed out for dropping litter have been enforced

Litterbugs caught fouling the streets of Sheffield are dodging fines - with only half paying up. Out of the 476 fines handed out over the past year, only 55 per cent of the £75 penalties have been paid. Environment chiefs admit the figure is disappointing and say they are now looking at whether they will have more success rewarding people who use litterbins while still punishing those who don't.

The news comes just a short time after the council announced new powers to clamp down on other environmental crime such as leaving wheelie-bins out on the street. Liberal Democrats are calling for the Labour council to get tough with litter louts and ensure better enforcement.

Cllr David Baker, Sheffield Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader, said: -

"Whilst these new powers are welcome its clear that the council need to tackle the fundamental issue of how many of these fines are actually enforced. If council officers can only manage to collect 55% of fines handed out at the present time, then is it wise to hand out more fines that have little chance of being enforced?"

"The whole system is flawed if those committing these offences believe they have a good chance of escaping punishment. The move to clamp down on environmental crime will only succeed if this key issue is addressed, otherwise this new announcement from Labour is nothing more than spin and it will have little impact in making our neighbourhoods cleaner"

"We are calling for the council to truly get tough with those who wreck our environment by introducing a new zero-tolerance policy aimed at bringing about greater enforcement. If an individual is guilty of spoiling the environment for the rest of us, then there should be no getting out of paying the fine"