Liverpool litter crackdown sees 315 £80 fines issued in one day

Fines worth £25,200 were issued on Wednesday by the new team of enforcement officers

More fines were issued to people dropping litter in Liverpool on the first day of a council crackdown than were given out in the previous year.

A total of 315 fines, worth £25,200, were issued by a new team on Wednesday, 38 more than in 2016.

The 17-strong team can hand out £80 fixed penalties to people dropping litter or allowing their dogs to foul.

The year-long pilot by the council and cleaning company Kingdom will target the city and district centres.

The money raised from the fines will be split in half between the council and Kingdom, an authority spokesman said.

He added that street cleaning cost the council £8m a year.

Councillor Steve Munby, the council's cabinet member for neighbourhoods, said the team "will take a zero tolerance approach" and will "hit those responsible hard in the pocket".

"I've already heard about a friend who was rather carelessly smoking at the bus stop, dropped it on the floor and got issued with a fixed penalty notice," he said.

"Sorry mate, but that's what you get if drop a fag on the floor now.

"Making our streets look scruffy just because you're too lazy to find a bin is just not acceptable and we're not going to tolerate it."