Forums Forums Wirral Information Wirral Council Wirral Litter Police : £80 Fines

People who are caught dropping and leaving litter behind in public in Wirral will be hit with an on-the-spot fine from new enforcement officers.

Wirral Council have appointed Kingdom Ltd to provide environmental enforcement services in the borough giving them responsibility for enforcing legislation around litter left on streets and in parks and other open spaces.

From the 1st July, a team of enforcement officers from Kingdom will be out and about targeting those anti-social people who don’t dispose of their litter in a responsible way. Anyone observed dropping and leaving litter will receive an immediate, on-the-spot penalty of £80.
http://www.wirral.gov.uk/news/24-06-2015/spot-fines-litter-be-enforced

£6400 made in Birkenhead alone today!

That doesn't surprise me. My daughter was find £80 in Maidstone this year, for putting a cigarette stump in the gutter.

She now knows better, without being told. Serves her right.

I hate litter bugs! I hate it when you`re on the motorway and somebody throws a load of rubbish out the window like McDonald's wrappers. Who do these people expect to pick it up? Would they like their mum, dad, son or daughter to litter pick on the motorway for the minimum wage?

Good luck to 'em. No excuse for chucking litter about.

Isn't this just another way of creating revenue ? Wouldn't it be a better deterrent and more effective punishment to give them a days compulsory work picking litter up ? If they had to pick up other people's crap they might think twice about dropping it.

Ideally the fine AND made to litter pick!

They'll only need to park their arrises by Park Station and they will make a fortune. Disgusting considering it's the gateway station to Birkenhead Park and people visit it because of it's historical significance. The side avenues in PRN are used as car clean up facilities by commuters and shoppers who just throw their junk into the gutter before heading off to Upton, Claughton and other salubrious localities, leaving us with their shoit. It's a wind up.

I was waiting at the lights by the fire station yesterday & some woman in the car in front threw her fag out the car window hate to think what some of these peoples houses look like

i wish they would start to fine men who spit and snot on the pavements as its absolutely disgusting

Yes I,m with you on that Rocks,it's absolutley foul! Makes me feel sick..

thought there was a bylaw against spitting but I think it's disgusting too

Are these Litter Wardens easy to spot? I mean do they wear any sort of uniform?.

I have just been up to Liscard and the place is strewn with litter as usual, and I have never seen one of these Warden people since the rules came in.
Or are they all assigned to Birkenhead?

I saw a couple of them on the croft on the first couple of days,they were taking details down from one of the workers from smyths.Wondered what they were doing,they had skye blue looked like polo tops on,I take it they were the litter wardens

Id sooner tread on a Mcdonalds bag than a pile of dog turd..cant they get there priorities right. Nil fines collected for lazy dog owners.

Totally agree fish.

Nothing is ever said about dogs urinating in the streets, which can often be on someones gateway. Maybe dog owners should be made to carry a squeezy bottle with a solution of water and disinfectant to wash it away.

My dog wees over grids,I didn't teach her maybe her previous owner or while she was in the kennels

That's great Star but a lot of owners seem to think it's acceptable to let them wee wherever they choose to stop.

We could try planting more Trees

That's only a solution for the men dogs

Mines a girl dog but she can cock her leg on a tree if no grids available

That's girl power going too far

we dont even have public conveniences

Does anyone remember when a dog piddled on a gatepost, how it was considered as disgusting ? To see the trace of trickle down the post, was frowned upon and steered clear of. The mums (always the mums) would come out with their scrubbing brush and a bowl of Aunt Sally Disinfectant and scrub the gatepost, step, and surrounding pavement.
That was when dogs were allowed to wander the streets, willy nilly.

How standards have dropped, but it's much better they are now restricted to owners walking them, providing the owners are responsible, which I think most are. There are some though, who would be prepared to abandon any form of respect for others. I reckon there are a few on here too. They tend to hide when such subjects are discussed.

Source Click Me

More than 98% of those given fixed penalty notices for dropping litter in the borough were disposing of cigarette-related items - mainly cigarette ends - the statistics show.

So they have worked out where to make there money now.
£80,0000 in fines in one month !!!

I'm an EX Smoker, and it was the norm to just drop and stamp on it, i cant believe that this is there target audience now. I would love to here back from someone who has been fined and what they actually did if it was a cigarette with no where to put it out.

Times change i get that, but does this really mean on fireworks night if you set off a rocket your going to be fined for littering because its hot and you cant pick it up to put in a bit.

Littering to me, is throwing a bag of rubbish up a back entry or behind a wall, not a wrapper or a cigarette butt.

1000 in a month is pretty intense, I would have thought.

It makes us wonder how many 'little Hitler litter spies' are out and about the roads, and how much of that money is going towards the salaries.

Must be to replace the revenue from spy cameras used to catch people parking in the wrong place.

Does this apply to cigarette ash too ? What about the leaves that blow from our trees and garden onto the road ?

To be honest, certain areas used to be quite bad for litter and when clean pavements are covered in chewing gum, it looks horrible. So if it makes people aware, then it has to be good. £80 is over the top.

me and my mrs were walking through birkenhead the other day and she was smoking but there was nowhere for her to put her ciggy out so i just told her to throw it in the bin as if this is such a big target for these fines the council should make sure their is enough safe places to dispose of them to give people chance to avoid the fines and then if people fail to use the safe way provided they deserve to be fined!!

Whats up with docking it and putting it in an old ciggy packet and taking it home? the same as people do with their litter.

Think of this :

Following a person from say a sweet shop, you just done know how long they will take to eat or drink what they have bought, but follow someone with a cigarette for 10 mins and you have a result.

This is dirty tricks by the council, for me it does not send out the right message at all, if the campaign is about empty bottle and cans etc, how can they justify the 98% of fines towards smokers if there not trying to make as much money as they can.

Chewing gum, that has to be the worst offender, but that is going to take some time to follow a person etc.

For me this isn't a campaign about clean up the wirral this is targeting smokers as its easy money for the council to fine people.

I remember years ago on the lamp posts £1,000 fines for littering, but that did not include ciggarette buts. And no one really took any notice.

There fines do not represent as i would call rubbish which is how i would describe clean up wirral.

On that link it also states Just 90 fines were handed out between 2010 and 2015.

Why should it be acceptable to just throw it on the floor? If you choose to smoke you need to think ahead about the waste it creates.

It might have been OK once, but it isn't any more and people have to get with the times and accept that and change their lifestyle to suit. Same with dogs. When I had a dog you could let it do its business anywhere.

If I eat a sandwich I don't throw the container or wrapper onto the floor just because there are no bins.

... in spades.

You create the litter, you dispose of it or take it home. Simples. Yes, that includes ciggy butts. they look just as bad as chewing gum strewn all over the place.

And to the person who said more bins should be provided for butts - why should I, as a council tax payer, pay for you to clean up after your filthy habit?

Littering is throwing any kind of rubbish on to the floor. Why should cigarette butts be exempt from littering. They look just as ugly all over the floor as wrappers.

The question is do you throw wrappers and cigarettes on the floor in your garden at home, if not then why should you do it in public places.

I'm shocked at the numbers 98% for cigarette fines.

I agree I think generally we are all more aware of litter etc, but in my opinion the whole campaign was about littering and to have the first months results in at 98% for smokers, i cant see how its a successful campaign, as there grip prior to the launch was littering but the results say smokers.

They eventually dropped fining dog owners for dog mess as it was not profitable, but they have hit the jack pot now.

Cigarettes its the best money spinner they have had in a long time.
We will see the same amount of litter everywhere else as only 2% have been fined for not cigarette offences.

I dont smoke, but as im reading it, its all about the money.

I guess im thinking of Cleaner Wirral, and from a visual point of vue.
to see 10 ciggy butts or 10 nappies i would see the nappies first.

Personally i don't litter, so its not something that's been on my mind, i've been recycling before we got the green brown grey bins.

My grip is that to me the council is being underhand about there littering campaign, where if the results were going to be as above, then it should be called "Stop That Butt"

They should follow cars leaving McDonalds etc, I regularly see people chucking food and rubbish from cars.

They do still fine for dog mess btw.

The bad news is the people who throw their rubbish into peoples gardens are now going to get it worse. Technically the Council can fine for this but are pretty unlikely to do so.

£80,000 in fines collected in one month, more than was collected in several previous years. The reason for this is that the council are not doing the work themselves but have contracted the work out to a private country wide organisation Kingdom who provide similar services in other towns and cities including London, Wolverhampton, Tunbridge Wells and Havant in Hants.
On their web site it states that the fine for littering in Wolverhampton is £75,and there are 6 operatives on duty daily on £8 odd per hour. Kingdom get £45 of the fine and the council get £30, a very sweet deal for Kingdom.
So there is the answer WBC must have a similar deal with Kingdom. These guys are patrolling and they must have daily targets and smokers are the most prolific and easily spotted culprits so they get hit the hardest. The operatives cannot skulk round in disguise as the wear uniforms and have body cameras so they must be easy to spot.
WBC must be chuffed to bits to have acquired this revenue stream for little or no outlay and must be hoping it will carry on at this level indefinitely.
Personally I hate litter and have little sympathy with people who are too lazy to dispose of it properly, but think the fines are excessive and think they should be used on a sliding scale with a smaller amount for an initial offence as a warning before the full penalty is incurred. Any measures to keep our streets clean should be welcomed if they work, but do we approve of a private company cleaning up in both senses of the word.

What happens to those who are on benefits and cannot pay ? Do they have to go to court or do community service as a punishment ? I'm not sure how unpaid fines are dealt with in this situation. It would cost even more to process proceedings.

Taking the above quoted charges from other councils, it would seem that a figure is just being plucked out of the air.

Would hope the council is not making a profit out of this....Councils should not make profit and if they are setting money made from one project against another which needs bolstering, is not the way of doing accounts, because it still relies on profits to achieve that end.

If they are not making a profit, then they must be paying a massive amount to this contracted company and we should be asking about that.

People dropping litter turn the town into a sh*tty mess, the council is doing something about it and punishing those for their anti-social behaviour - and yet people moan about this???

That so many people have been fined shows how widespread the problem is - and its a good thing that the right message is being put across.

Obviously some people like litter and mess, in order to further satiate your desires, I can organise as much rubbish as you can cope with if you want it for your front garden, I can even get bin loads of fag ends delivered as some seem to think these are the most desirable.

Rubbish and litter cleaning costs US a fortune, these fines won't even touch the amount it costs US to clean up after these dirty people.

We already pay our council tax towards cleaning the roads and pavements.
There is also a £1000 fine for dog fouling, but nobody ever seems to have administered that on any regular basis, if at all.
Cleaning dog muck off a kiddies sandal and socks, when they are on their way to school ,is pretty dreadful. Why not enforce that long standing law also ?

Nobody is saying nothing should be done, but £80 seems a steep fine for a cigarette butt, and unaffordable by unemployed.

£80 is less than two weeks worth of fags! If they can afford the fags they can afford the fine.

I think £80 is a fair balance between affordability and punishment, the message has got to get across. I bet many of us will think twice as to whether we attempt to chase or not chase that bit of paper we dropped accidentally.

The cost of street cleaning to US is ridiculous (nearly £1m), something that reduces and offsets that cost has got to be good.

Yes, agreed. If they can afford the fags, then they could manage the fine, but it's not simply fags is it ?

The fines nationwide vary from £50 to £80, and e.g. Thameside Council calculate 12 tonnes of dog excrement a day. So what is costing more, dog's or smokers ?

Don't take this the wrong way, but I just think it is totally unbalanced, and the most guilty are getting away with it.

If this is a national purge, which it would appear to be , will the residents of the communities in the streets of Bradford and Leeds also be given these fines ? 16,000 flyers in Bradford were withdrawn in 2011, for fear of inciting racial hatred.

In my view it should be a national scheme, same price everywhere, and applicable to ALL offenders, no matter what the litter or deposits. Then everyone knows exactly what is expected of them and their family and friends.

I was in New Brighton on Saturday lunch time with the dog & this dirty old git had just emptied a carrier bag of chips & other waste food just by the steps where the cafes are.Were was the litter police then,my dog is a food thief at the best of times manged to keep clea,he probably thought he was doing good feeding the sky rats

Good point on the non payment of fines granny, that is why we have ended up with entries full of old furniture and other kinds of junk, the council are reluctant to bring prosecutions because of the legal costs involved, and the possibility that when found guilty those involved will be unable to pay thus leaving the council with the bill not only for clearing up but for costs.

Can't afford to pay? Then you have to do litter picking for the day. Yet if we did that, there would be uproar over that as well. Dog muck should be just as vigorously enforced, i agree.

Excellent!

I live next to council offices. A few years ago they had a "bus stop" smoking area built in the grounds. It's still there but apparently they're not allowed to use it (no smoking on council property). So now the staff stand around outside the front door to smoke and frequently drop their cigarette butts on the ground - it's a complete mess there.

Mr skeptic here.. I don't believe this story--yes maybe they have done a few people for littering. Governments make up stories to suit their own ends--in this case scare tactics
. They even admit it-- they lied on a form and it made people pay their council tax bills on time.

Now they admit lying about benefit:

Government department admits: We made up stories on our benefits leaflets
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/59...ork-and-Pensions-welfare-reforms-leaflet

maybe they would argue the end justifies the means

All very good points raised
Love the litter picking one.

My original point was if this is truly at "Litter" campaign then why is it not targeted to all kinds of littering. In my humble opinion its discriminating towards smokers because it brings in the revenue which from the £80,000 speaks volumes.

From the results they have 98% of the revenue from Cigarette related offences. Which is not balanced at all for a "Litter" campaign, its a Revenue Campaign or it would be called "Don't Drop your Butt" and giving fair warning to a smoker to be aware of the campaign. If the revenue was balanced you could say its a fair and honest campaign. But its not informed smokers of the new harsh fines being imposed under new littering rules.

I'm an ex smoker so i'm not fighting for the smoker but just how unfair and under had this comes across at.

Dog Fouling.
Its known that it has not be a successful campaign and prosecutions are minimal. Due to an expensive process. But while this was in place, i cant remember a smoker being fined for dropping a cigarette butt.


Shame on the Council in my opinion for this tactic and the revenue stream.
I've done more digging and follow me on this one if you would.
After a Quick Google Wirral Council Littering

Wirral Council Press Release Pages Click me
In summary the Notifications for the Public.

Litter louts will be hit with tougher fines from April 1 Click Me
Ive never see 10,000 tones of Cigarette butts, so at first glance this is revenue again, as there are 2,000 flytipping incidents a year.

So the Fines is increased (See below) and the early payment is less. Previously £75 - £25 = £50 Early Payment. Now £80 - £20 = £60 Early Payment. Fine goes up, and early payment goes down.

Wonderful but failing to mention that the Early payment is reducing until you get to the bottom of the page.

So Far Nothing about Cigarette butts and the more balanced opinion of littering in my vue, Fly tipping alley ways etc




139 fined on first two days of dedicated litter patrol Click Me

No Cigarette butts mentioned. As there top priority !!

So if your reporting hot spots there following the money trail. But no mention of cigarettes again. . . .

And its not all bad, because after the councils announcements about tackling littering they post the following headline
Wirral parks are the best in the North West Click me

I'm so confused about what the council is actutally saying to us, we have the worst litter caused by smokers dropping cigarette butts or we have the best parks. . .

And Finally folks as my rant comes to a close lol
I have managed to find a page on the wirral councils web sie about cigarette butts. And the clarification is all too clear now as its on the same page on how to pay your fine !! Click me

You know we get letters from the council if there is an election or councillor change, but they don't choose to inform us of the £80 fine for the following

It is a crime to drop and leave any form of litter including:

fast food wrappers and packaging
chewing gum
cigarette butts and other smoking related products
flyers left on windscreens

** Flyers left on screens ?
Is that a flyer blowing off or someone putting a flyer on my car ??

O well its off my chest now ish. . . .

What I find interesting is that carrier bags - which are supposed to be such a menace the gov. is soon going to force supermarkets to charge us 5p for them - are not mentioned anywhere here.

I think carrier bags are a fairly minor nuisance. There are far more squashed aluminium drinks cans or empty fizzy drinks bottles, as well as discarded food containers about than there are carrier bags.

Thanks Mark--I also feel better for you getting that off your chest.

Would be interesting for some rich dude to take it to court to define "litter" as has been said what about the ash from the cigarette or cigar flicked on the floor. Think I read a solicitor said that putting a butt down the grid does not constitute littering.

Did someone mention about feeding the ducks-usually load of uneaten bread scattered around.

As a slight counter to the butt vs fly tipping, I know of about 12 small sites that are frequent fly-tipping locations whereas I know miles and miles of roads that cigarette butts are dropped on regularly. It costs more to clean miles of streets on a regular basis than a small number of fly-tipping areas on an occasional basis.

Smokers drop butts more often than they (or other people) drop litter is a way of looking at the butt vs litter aspect.

Either way, the message is getting across, drop litter and you can (quite rightly) be fined.

The solution to the fast food waste problem is quite simple, make the fast-food places label all their wrapping and charge them for the amount that ends up on the street.

Despite McDonalds saying they regularly empty their bins and do their best, the number of times I find their bins full says otherwise. Having watched the staff at Rock Park, I don't think they are allowed to empty their bins unless they are full to the brim.

I'm reading as this is a civil matter you do not have to give any details to the enforcement officer ? Like a Private parking ticket its civil. And when do you actually agree you accept the bylaw if there is no signage of fair warning.
I'm not sure if any of that above is fact or just fiction.

Its wide open now.

is a bin man going to be fined £80 if the rubbish from the wagon blows or spills out ??

Is there an Exemption list.

This could go on and on. . ..


There was a comment on the globe website from a reader saying in there area, they watch the wardens ignoring people dropping litter and target the smokers as its easy money. . . .

Its both Civil and Criminal, the criminal law allows a civil fixed penalty notice as an alternative, however if the recipient chooses not to pay the fpn then that is their choice.

I'd love to know what percentage of these fines actually get paid.

Just incase you may think putting the ciggy butt down the gutter is ok !!

Be aware !!
£75 for putting cigarette stub down a GRID Click me

And obviously this now covers chewing gum.

The Fag Police were on the prowl in the Cherry Tree carpark, just before. Leaning nonchalantly against the wall, watching me smoke. As I was finishing he hot- footed it over only to be disappointed as I stubbed it out in my Love Wirral Stub It pouch.

Obviously a huge litter problem that car park.
And a scene of outstanding beauty lol.

I would love to play slight of hand with them.

What usually works is if you start filming them --but not covertly like they do. More in their face or at least a respectable distance and post up on youtube.. Although it might be difficult if filming from the car park as its private property-

The value of videoing in this TV Licence Search
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QnFwLqCQ24

or excellent scam documentary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQeKy1v-R-I

I hope this Guy does appeal, the whole process stinks. If your caught speeding you can go on a speed awareness course. Education notices and fair warning. I hope this back fires on the council and common sense sees sense. Sinage, to say in this area. The now 95k in fines is targeting smokers regardless of what the council says.

Click me Source

It is not targeting smokers, it might be targeting smokers that litter.

I can't see why you are trying to campaign to have our streets freely littered with fag ends???

I assume the council will have a word with the company to broaden their surveillance to other littering but there is nothing wrong with doing things one step at a time. I'm sure that more fag ends are dropped that other bits of litter.

In the past we have had campaigns against:-
Dog mess (no doubt someone claimed they were picking on dog owners)
Drinking in public (no doubt someone claimed they were picking on drinkers)
Speeding (no doubt someone claimed they were picking on drivers)
Drugs (no doubt someone complained they were picking on smack-heads)
etc

People are like animals nowadays pukin,drinking,fags everywhere ,smoke in the streets when you want a coffee or to eat ,its a disgusting habit, big fat consumers shovelling in junk sugar&fat with drunken dozy eyes at 2am before avin a fight.....modern uk is horrible esp in citys at the weekend in the early hours...my personal hate is chuckin lit fags out car windows

Eloquently put, totally agree

My grump is that there just isn't enough warning about the ciggy ends.

A Speeding fine is not far off the cost of dropping a ciggy butt.
But there are signs up with Speeding enforcement vans so you have fair warning, and it shows that its not just a revenue stream if you continue to speed.

Imo the council not playing fair.
Not providing fair warning. For an £80 fine there should be advance warning in the area.

If the Enforcement Officers get over to New Brighton they will kill the tourism. Its the way there going about it that just stinks for me.

Many smokers for years have seen the £1,000 fines on lampposts and never been challenged under "Littering" so to all of a sudden to enforce it with out highlighting the BIG change in attitude towards ciggy butts. There first month was £80,0000 + For Ciggy offences. If this was there target then the campaign as you rightly say should be labeled correctly. Its is littering but it never used to be enforced.

Wirral Council have lost so much money over car parking revenue this is there next money making scheme. As i pointed out in a previous post only on the fine page to pay your fine is the ciggy butts mentioned and no where else that i can find.

Yes in this day and age ciggy butts are littering.
Yes they have always been littering.
But never enforced !!

At least educate with fair warning. I'm only a voice thinking of people like my mum who are old and have done this for years, and to have a £80 fine for something that they have done for more years than they can remember and £80 fine could put them into so much financial problems when your only income is a state pension.

I've educated her from the stories we have put together, and suggested she gets one of those personal ashtray things for her handbag.

I just think if the council was on the peoples side they would educate before fine.
Smokes must be in the minority now and this is how they can get away with it.

I roll my own cigs (nearly as thick as normal cigs)and I usually only smoke half a cig and pocket the other half to later break up to make new cigs when short of tobacco.
Will they next target the cig ash as litter?

The ciggy smokers are the easy meat to catch. Outside any railway station, bus stops, outside pubs, very easy for these so called Enforcement Officers. Who they should be prosecuting are the totally selfish, lazy and irresponsible so called dog owners who let their dogs defecate all over our pavements, footpaths and parks.They are the ones that should be fined and heavily too, they are spreading disease, dirt and smells and its always somewhere else other than near or by their house. Selfish b...a..s

@mark we've even had at least two TV campaigns in the past about fag ends, and as you say the warning signs have been tried on lampposts litter bins and wall posters - yet they were ignored them - now they are being acted upon.

Everybody is aware it is an offence, though I guess not everybody would know its a criminal offence - but ignorance of the law is no defence.

So people are aware, warnings were given in at least two media formats and numerous different poster/sign campaigns - now the boot has been stuck in.

Ive not seen them before,

I don't smoke, so may be i've been a bit blind.

My Own Opinion is thus,
The money brought in is + 90% from Smokers Fines.
So why is it not called a Anti Cigarette Butt Campaign.
There biggest revenue has not been made more aware of, in there advertising at all. Yes its litter, but it never used to be targeted. . . .

The papers have now made it front page and many more are aware, but that first month is just outrageous. If the council were fair to its residents they would in my opinion warn for the first month and educate that next month you will get a £80 fine.

We can split hairs all day, but in my opinion this is not a fair scheme because the smokers are paying the price and they not targeting the fly tipping at all. I would guess most fly tipping happens in the night or the dark, I wonder what time these enforcement officers clear there shifts. So any fly tipper will not bat an eyelid.

Yes we can say the council is bringing in money which then leaves more money in the pot for other services. But remember the council can invest the money in new carpets and luxury items for there offices (Coffee Machines).

Seems no one is accountable for there huge waste of money.

Yes the message is out there now.
I doubt this will be the end of this practice hitting the headlines.

There was exactly the same outcry in various London boroughs two years ago, the local government ministers take on the protesters was.



Wirral have successfully caught and prosecuted a number of rural fly-tippers but needless to say it is a lot harder and costly to catch them, the council would have to cut money from other services to afford to achieve a higher prosecution rate.

After years of costing ratepayers money to clean up after smokers and some smokers breaking the law, the specific offenders themselves are now paying for it - can't get any fairer than that.

Jail term for flytipper after successful action by Wirral Council

So they caught one. But nothing back in the kitty that i can see.
So catching a fly tipper is jail time. But does not offset the cost of the clean up.

If he has paid a fine then maybe the council should have included that in there page.

Source : Click Me

I think we should consider the health hazard of those people who SPIT. Its awful, even worse if its coloured green.

Spitting is classed as littering. Health and safety wise it is less risk than coughing or sneezing which puts a large cloud of particles in the air.

Lady on radio merseyside today. At the lifeboat day hoylake.hubby left a paper cup by side of bench where they had been sitting.3 burly kingdom goons confronted them asking for his name and address which he refused and they threatened to phone police which they didnt do but they later followed the wife with her kids up the street and photographed her car and ran at the car to get video footage.she was quite scared as she didnt know who they were.crafty wirral council contacted the radio show asking for her to contact them but she declined before she had spoken to her husband.wonder if they just targetted the event because they know people would be having fast food and bins likely to be full

I would be asking for ID and a contact number. Before i give my details out.
And would take the time to put my phone on video record, because i can.


The more i think about it, these patrols seem absolutely random where they show up (But we know there chasing the money) so whos to say they cant be impersonated and taking money under false pretences.

I can only see this damaging the council, you begin to feel you cant do anything called fun or enjoy some fun with out a £80 fine hidden in the bushes.

Easy to understand why in 3's because the would be flattened on there own in my opinion.

Yesterday coming out of St Caths hospital to the bus stop in Derby rd a woman there told me an elderly gent had just been fined £80 for dropping his ciggie in the gutter (he wasn't smoking in the bus shelter).
She said there appeared to be nobody else around at the time when 2 men suddenly appeared out of nowhere to fine him.
They had been sitting in a car near to the bus stop and they were still there when I got on the bus.
So beware smokers of these sneaks.
Is the aim to stop litter or to make easy money for the council and the firm doing it?
If it's for the money what next - aim dedicated cctv cameras at likely litter/cigs dropping spots with a standby teams to nab the culprits

And here's me thinking the gutter and drains are for excess rainwater...

two of them this morning at the car park by the beach in moreton.
silver Peugeot 208 - reg ending in HZF.
caught a lad dropping a ciggie butt.

So when they have taught us not to drop our stumps in the street and the revenue dries up from that source, will Kingdom Ltd still be paid by the council if the cost falls below what they collect.
I'd be interested to know how much and how Kingdom Ltd get paid.
Just wondering if they are on a commission basis - the more fines the more money earned?
Do they give you time to tread on the stump to put it out prior to putting it in a litter bin or do you put it in lit possibly causing the litter bin to go on fire.

Have they any sort of uniform they wear which if you saw one would obviously deter anyone from dropping litter.
Are parents responsible (and fined) for children dropping litter ?

no uniform mate. just looked like any normal person in the street. black pants, grey hoody, looked like steel toe cap boots!!!
not even from round here. the goon giving the ticket out even had to ask where he was!!
quite aggressive too.
I was wondering re commission too. one goon got out while the other stayed in the car.

apparently theyre from st Helens!!
well done WBC contracting out of the area.
as if contracting out all other services we pay council tax for wasn't bad enough!

Michael Fisher, Divisional Director for Kingdom Environmental Protection Division (EPD), said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Wirral Council with the common aim of reducing street litter within the district and make the streets both cleaner and safer for all members of the community. Kingdom EPD have been delivering a wide range of environmental investigations and enforcement services on a national basis since 2009 and have consequently contributed to a reduction in street litter and the associated cost of street cleaning as a result of our efforts.
this is taken from 'kingdom'
“Our aim is to patrol in an ‘intelligence led’ manner focusing our controls on identified litter hotspots operating a robust but always proportionate methodology to tackle the problem, using a wide range of technical support including body worn cameras and a ‘real time’ capability of verifying details provided in the event of transgressions being identified. Our patrols will be instructed to communicate openly with the community with the overall aim of inclusivity for the Wirral community to play their part in the task ahead.”

ALWAYS ASK FOR ID, AND TO SEE THEIR BODYCAM FOOTAGE, THIS IS OPEN TO SCAMMERS PREYING ON THE PUBLIC, AND OF COURSE DON'T LITTER IN THE FIRST PLACE

Just fined a mum for letting her daughter throw bread to the ducks in Birkenhead Park. Because the ducks were full and didnt eat it--it was litter.


Not really but don't see why they couldn't. Its just a revenue raising exercise targetting the easy places.

Have we anyone who has told them to stuff it to see what course of action is taken.

Would also like to know how the £80 has been arrived at. Just a figure plucked from the air?

Good Advice.

There targeting Care homes and old people at the bus stops, there was a video on facebook and a woman in distress over the whole thing, and a good guy videoed it all and they walked off. With there heads down.



And this is preventing Fly Tipping shame on you wirral council !!!

£80 to a pensioner is a weeks wage and can tip them into debt !!

Shame on Wirral Council !!!

The police understand the word Caution, why cant the council !!!
Take my name and address and Caution me, I'm hardly a murderer. . . .

On the positive side it does seem to be working, in Birkenhead yesterday waiting for the wife outside the shops, never seen so many people putting litter in the bins, I read a letter in the Globe from some fool trying to defend dropping ciggy butts by saying people don't trip over them and they don't cause any harm, I think that says it all.

The video on FB was taken on Seabank Road by the shops - and the "good guy" was following the officers down the road shouting abuse at them.
Littering and flytipping are totally separate issues.

I'm fed up of living in an area where a large proportion of residents think that the streets are for them to throw crap onto because they're too lazy to use a bin, not to mention the amount of ill informed barrack room lawyers defending them!

Ok he was foul with his mouth but im sure you heard how distressed the old lady was and how they walked away and hid there faces from his camera.

Why cant they caution in the Hot Spots for 3 - 6 months, there out for money and its going to backfire on them.

You can drop a ciggy in Liverpool get off the ferry and Drop another one and get £80 fine.
Were are the warnings, where is the friendly advice.

Littering is littering, but why zero tolerance, I remember not so many years ago chatting with a policeman with a cigarette in my hand and stubbed it out on the floor while talking to them. The Littering Law of old was in place then, no action taken, or advised to put it in the bin.

Is it so difficult to take a name and address as a caution !
Second time you get fined, that's fair enough until the word has spread. 3 or 6 months.

As i say, an OAP hit with a £80 fine is wrong !!
There pension is pitiful, and that money could be heating or food.

I agree with the side of littering being wrong, but not this way of collecting and frightening old people.

This video he says stop videoing, its on public ground and you can video. You can video police as long as it does not hinder his work, in other words prevent an arrest because of your actions.




Every Other Enforcement office i can think of wears Hi Viz why are these guys so dark !!
Its money making .. . . .


An older video from knowsley
Published on Aug 2, 2013
A Knowsley Council 'Enforcement' Officer entered onto private premises after he had seen a pensioner allegedly drop a cigarette stump (also on that private property) and he then escorted the OAP off those private premises in order to issue him with a fine for 'dropping litter'



These guys are in a law to there own. . . . .

Just look how intimidating they are, and telling you what they want you to hear.



Most important part is that you should never delete any pictures, not even a police officer can ask you to delete them, only a court order. A policeman can view the content but not delete.

You can find various links to the "Photography advice - Metropolitan Police Service" document via google, but the met website was a pain to load, but eventually you will get it. Public place no restrictions, private property its up to the property owner what is allowed or not.

You can not prevent an officer carrying out his duties, as in your standing out like a sore thumb, preventing him say watching a criminal.

http://content.met.police.uk/Site/photographyadvice

Its when i see content like above and old people and even mentally ill people being targeted makes my blood boil. And then they can not even inform you correctly of the law, they are intimidating. Stand your Ground. I cant find the seabank road video to share.

If I was a smoker I would be tempted to have some fine fishing wire attached to a cigarette butt and play some games with them.

Presumably the littering laws include a requirement of abandonment.

However I still think this is a good thing, if people haven't got the message yet then that is clearly their problem. The system is exceedingly generous in giving the option to keep it as a civil matter and not criminal, apparently in Liverpool the average fine in courts is £175.

Sorry Guys this is just one of them things that get under your skin, and its under mine. But were all allowed an opinion.

The council are refusing to put signs up.
And think there officers are carrying out there hard line approach is just "Fine"

ENFORCEMENT officers have issued on-the-spot fines totalling £258,000 in just two months of a crackdown against littering


Source click me

Also, we will now be paying for plastic bags in an attempt to stop us dropping them and causing pollution to our seas and sea life. Getting into the food chain. Can't see the sale of plastic bags will stop the litter louts . There are plenty of other plastic objects , packaging etc. that are left after a day out at the beach. but polluted oceans are obviously all the fault of the British....again. So charge the buggers !

Every little helps but it has to be more down to education and targeting the cruise liners for dumping their rubbish and effluence in the oceans on a massive scale. Always have done, always will do !

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...n-coast-violation-international-law.html

Sewage

http://qz.com/308970/cruise-ships-dump-1-billion-tons-of-sewage-into-the-ocean-every-year/