North Lincolnshire litter louts taken to court in rubbish crackdown

Litter louts who refused to pay a £150 fine ended up coughing up four times that amount after being called to court.

More than 1,800 people have been hit with fines in North Lincolnshire Council’s crackdown on mess so far.

People have been ordered to pay up for everything from dropping litter to dog fouling and throwing rubbish from a vehicle.

Since the scheme started in November 2020, 1846 fines have been issued by the council’s partners LA Support.

These are reduced to £100 if paid within 28 days.

However, more than 130 ignored the fine and were called to Doncaster Magistrates’ Court.

Some ended up being slapped with a total demand for £644 after costs and victim surcharge were added on.

Scunthorpe was the most common place for fines to be issued.

117 payments were made in October 2021 alone – the highest single month – costing litterers more than £10,000.

All funds raised are put back into the enforcement scheme, which has been extended for another year.

Councillor Rob Waltham, leader of North Lincolnshire Council, said: “Picking up other people’s rubbish costs us more than £1 million a year, which is why I am determined to make the litter louts pay.

“The council has just invested in dozens of brand new bins for town centres, roads and lay-bys across the region – there is simply no excuse for dropping litter.

“We also have an army of volunteer litter-pickers who give up their time to clean up their local communities so everyone can enjoy them – they deserve our thanks and support.

“If you can’t find a bin the answer is simple – take your rubbish home. If you don’t, we will fine you.

“And I would urge anyone who sees someone else dropping litter, chucking it out of a car or fly-tipping to record it on their phones and upload it to our online flytipping portal – we’ll do everything we can to track down the dumpers.”