More than a hundred fixed penalty notices were issued to people in County Durham for offences such as littering and dog fouling.
Durham County Council’s neighbourhood protection team operates throughout the county to tackle enviro-crime and during November the team issued a total of 107 fixed penalty notices.
Of those, 79 were issued for littering, 26 were issued to people who had failed to comply with a litter clearing notice and two were issued to people who failed to pick up after their pets.
Two offenders were subsequently prosecuted at magistrates’ court for non-payment of their littering fixed penalty notices.
In addition to the fixed penalty notices the neighbourhood protection team investigated 171 incidents of flytipping and issued 118 advisory letters and 32 litter clearing notices in relation to properties with untidy gardens and yards.
Ian Hoult, neighbourhood protection manager at Durham County Council, said: “County Durham is a beautiful place and we, along with the majority of people who live here, want to keep it that way.
“Environmental crimes, like littering, dog fouling and flytipping, blight our communities and are a real concern to residents.
“We urge anyone with information about such incidents and those responsible to report it to us so that we can investigate and take action.”
Anyone with information about enviro-crimes, including dog fouling, littering and flytipping, or about incidents of anti-social behaviour is asked to contact Durham County Council’s neighbourhood protection team on 03000 26 1000.