Drop it and cop it’ litter warning
Litter patrols are being launched in Kirkham to clear the streets of rubbish and chewing gum.
Starting next week, Fylde Council staff will team up with police community safety officers and business owners to display posters and patrol the streets – with £75 instant fines for litterbugs.
Councillor Albert Pounder, Fylde Council cabinet member for Customer and Operational Services, said: “Litterbugs are a scourge in many parts of the country and we want to ensure that Fylde does not go down the same route.
“We’ll mainly be targeting the centre of town. Businesses are helping on the educational side by displaying posters while our staff and police will back up the message with fines for offenders.
“Many people don’t think of discarded chewing gum as litter – but it is. It is only small but it stays where it is dropped for months and years and can ruin shoes and clothes.
“Last year the council had to spend £1,000 on removing chewing gum from pavements and there is no reason that Council Tax-payers should have to pay that.
We’ll put the responsibility back where it belongs: on the miscreants.
“We are doing all we can to ensure that Fylde remains a clean, green borough. We have many bins on the streets and we want people to know that they should use them.”
For further information, visit: www.fylde.gov.uk or contact Fylde Direct on 01253 658658.