March 16, 2022 8.30 am This story is over 32 months old

Grimsby council hands out 6,000 fines for littering or fly-tipping

Councillor said fines makes people think twice
| Photo: Anti-littering campaign

People who litter or fly-tip shouldn’t complain when they’re hit with fines, an East Marsh councillor has said.

Over 6,000 people were given fines and fixed penalty notices over the last year in North East Lincolnshire. These were for parking, littering, and offences related to dogs and cycling.

Councillor Steve Beasant said fines makes people think twice about before abusing their communities. He has called for more enforcement officers to keep Grimsby clean.

“My fellow ward councillors and I have been campaigning for years for a cleaner and greener East Marsh – not to mention the rest of the borough. Enforcement is one of the best tools we have to do that,” he said.

“When I was portfolio holder for Safer Communities, people would complain to me about fines they had been given. But if they have been littering or fly tipping, they deserve to be hit in the back pocket.

“Fines do work in deterring people. If anything, we need more enforcement officers.

“You see black bags left outside houses much less nowadays. Knowing that there are officers around makes people think twice before they litter.

“I would like to see more patrols in the parks, as people are sick of dog fouling but there aren’t as many fixed penalty notices for it. Grant Thorold Park and Sidney Park see plenty of it.”

North East Lincolnshire Council’s working partner EQUANS handed out 4,855 fines for parking across 2020/21. This is around half the number in a typical year before the pandemic, likely due to people staying at home during lockdowns.

The enforcement saw officers patrolling problem areas with high levels of offending seven days a week. 75 per cent of people paid up, according to a report to go before the Communities Scrutiny panel.

Officers for LA Support also issued 865 fines for littering, and 553 for breaches of Public Space Protection Orders. This could include having a dog or cycling in a banned place, such as on Cleethorpes beach out of season, or not picking up after their pets.

This enforcement was carried out over all wards in North East Lincolnshire, with a focus on busy areas and parks.

Just under half of all people given FPNs (638) were taken to court for not paying their fine. The number of these fines had also fallen from around 1,800 before the pandemic.