LITTERBUGS in Fenland have been warned by the council after 12 people received fines as part of a four-day crackdown.

Fenland District Council is planning another crackdown later this year after the successful campaign which fined people for throwing away cigarette stubs and other rubbish sometimes just yards from bins and warning signs.

Councillor Peter Murphy, portfolio holder responsible for the environment, said: “Twelve tickets may not sound a lot but that is probably a sign that our campaign is having a positive effect. It also shows that we mean business.

“We’ve always said that handing out fines is a last resort – we would much rather not have to go that far but if we have to, we will.

“The message we are trying to get across is that everyone should take a pride in their environment and look after it.

“Most people seem to be taking that on board, with only a small, thoughtless minority continuing to ignore it. We’ll continue to go after them.

“We’ve had a very favourable response from the public – lots of people came up to our officers over the four days to congratulate them on what they were doing.”

Two people paid their fines on the same day and three others have paid within the fortnight reducing their �75 fines to �50. All fines need to be paid within a month of being issued.

Street Scene officers patrolled March, Wisbech, Chatteris and Whittlesey for up to two hours each day as part of the “Tidy Fenland” campaign.