THURROCK Council has issued £31,350 in littering fines in about one month.

The council started sending out littering enforcement officers in December and the officers have handed out 418 fixed penalty notices.

Currently almost half the number of fines handed out are outstanding.

Rob Gledhill, leader of Thurrock Council said the money from the fines is used to fund the service. He added: “Members of the public are commenting that the appearance of the borough has improved since the Clean it, Cut it, Fill it campaign has been in place and the enforcement officers have been patrolling Thurrock.

“As I have said before, if you deliberately litter the roads and footways of Thurrock, you will face a fine – don't pay that fine and you will face the magistrates”

Pauline Tolson, councillor for rnvironment, said: “With more than 500 bins around Thurrock, there really is no excuse for spoiling our borough.

“This is a new resource dedicated to enforcing against litter and dog fouling, so we have seen a steep rise in the number of FPNs issued.

“The total fines paid already totals £16,875. Offenders are given 14 days to pay and while the scheme is still in its infancy, a large number of recent tickets are early in the process so we wouldn’t expect payment yet.

“But we are very clear, those who choose to not pay will face prosecution.”