City's dog fouling fines could rise to £100

Cleaning up litter and fly-tipping costs the council over £12m a year

Fines for anyone caught failing to clean up after their dog in Liverpool could rise to £100 as part of a fresh crackdown on littering in general.

Inconsiderate pet owners currently face fixed penalty notices of £80.

Liverpool City Council has said it costs more than £12m a year to clean up littering and fly-tipping and the increased penalty is part of a raft of new proposals to offset the outlay.

The authority is looking at deploying an external company to enforce fines for such offences under a three-year contract.

The council's cabinet is looking to secure a deal with an as yet unnamed company, with a tiered approach towards fly-tipping offences.

Should senior councillors agree at a meeting on 3 June, the charge for dropping litter will increase to £150, up from £80, with an early payment option of £100 if paid within 14 days.

An additional £1.5m was approved during March's budget council meeting to increase environmental enforcement.

Cabinet documents outlined how the £80 fine level had not changed for years and fixed penalty levels had remained static.

"The evidence suggests, particularly for the offence of fly-tipping, which is increasing year on year, the level does not act as an effective deterrent to committing the offence," the report added.

Graffiti and fly-posting are also facing sterner punishments, doubling to £200 under the plans.

Breaches of public space protection orders will also be subject to harsher penalties as part of the proposals, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.