by Ross Lidbetter

ross.lidbetter@essnmedia.co.uk

Nearly 250 litter louts caught trashing Croydon have been fined over the past six months.

But the council's waste chief admits it isn't enough and has vowed to do all he can to hit more people in the pocket for dropping rubbish.

Figures show over half the offenders were caught in the town centre.

The litterbugs have been slapped with fines for offences ranging from dropping cigarette butts to throwing bags of rubbish out on the street instead of waiting for the binmen.

Offenders were ordered to pay £75, although this is reduced to £50 if paid within 14 days.

The problem of litter on Croydon's streets was highlighted by the Advertiser in May when council street cleaners piled up, in the town centre, all the rubbish they had collected on just one day.

The sight of a remarkable 13 tonnes of litter had scores of stunned shoppers stopping in their tracks.

Waste chief Councillor Phil Thomas admits the 249 fixed penalty notices issued between April 1 and September 30 is not a huge amount.

But he said: "The figure is a start, if you went back a year you would find we were hardly prosecuting anybody.

"There are litter bins throughout the borough but there are a small minority of people happy to trash Croydon and chuck their litter anywhere.

"We are going to use the legal powers and if we catch people then we are going to do our best to give them a fixed penalty notice or prosecute them."

The council says 126 of the fines dished out were for litter dropping in the town centre.

Other hotspots for fines, include parts of Woodside and Broad Green.

Cllr Thomas emphasised that the council has a "zero tolerance" policy to litter being dropped.

He added: "We started in Croydon town centre but our staff have been moving around the borough, visiting the district centres.

"People are not safe dropping litter anywhere in the borough. It is one of our top priorities.

"Those responsible need to learn that they will pay the price if - and when - they get caught."

Meanwhile, war has been declared on chewing gum being dropped in the town centre.

Tomorrow (Saturday) a team of actors will be dressed in white overalls and masks to raise the profile of a month-long information campaign.

Another team will be handing out chewing gum wraps to encourage people to dispose of their gum responsibly.

Ros Morgan, manager of Croydon BID (Business Improvement District), is behind the drive to stop so many people throwing their chewed gum on the floor.

She said: "Throwing away used chewing gum as litter has always been an offence.

"We're reminding everyone that this is still the case and if you are caught out you will be handed an instant £75 fine."