Nearly 1,400 fines issued in litter crackdown

Nearly 1,400 fines have been handed out as part of a council's year-long trial to clamp down on littering and fly-tipping.

Reading Borough Council has employed a contractor since mid-September to look out for people dropping litter, dumping rubbish and committing other environmental offences.

The authority's lead member for environmental services and community safety Karen Rowland said the enforcement could continue if it is deemed a success.

Kingdom Local Authority Support staff are clearly identifiable while at work and use bodyworn cameras to record interactions that take place with members of the public.

They look out for people spitting and dropping rubbish, including chewing gum and cigarette butts, and residents and businesses overfilling their bins.

They can issue fixed penalty notices (FPNs) of up to £1,000 for fly-tipping, £600 for the incorrect disposal of household waste and £500 for littering or graffiti.

William Russell, account director from the company, said: "Our teams are out and about every day of the week so come rain or shine there will be investigations taking place."

He added: "We will try to change people's behaviours through conversations and actions being taken."

By Thursday, the company had handed out 1,387 FPNs across Reading since 15 September.

Rowland said before the trial, residents were not happy with litter enforcement and the council set out to do something about it.

"I think [the number of fixed penalty notices handed out] are great numbers and I think that's really reflective of a good amount of work," she said.

"We will be looking at making these possibly permanent in the future and these are the kind of numbers that we will be looking at."

Anyone handed an FPN for environmental offences has 14 days to pay and has no official way of appealing, according to the council. Non-payers who feel they did nothing wrong will go to court where they case will be resolved.