Litterers pay £94k in fines

PEOPLE caught dropping litter in Hull have paid nearly £100,000 in fixed penalty notices in the first nine months of a new enforcement regime.

A team of private contractors started patrols in early January after Hull City Council outsourced its litter enforcement service for the first time.

Under the contract with Local Authority Support Ltd, the previous £100 on-the-spot penalty for littering and dog fouling has been retained, with a reduced £80 charge if paid within 14 days.

However, a progress report on the contract due to be discussed by councillors la later this w week has re revealed a hu huge increase in the number of penalty notices being handed out.

Although enforcement was suspended in April, May and most of June because of the first coronavirus lockdown, a total of 2,237 notices had been issued by the end of September.

That compares to just 200 handed out by the council’s own in-house staff during the whole of 2018.

The report says £94,110 in charges had been collected by the company by September 30. Under the contract, the council retains 20 per cent of all the income generated.

Giving a breakdown of age groups, it says the most prolific offenders are aged between 20 and 29. The least number of cases have been recorded among people aged between 70 and 79.

It also seems that men are more likely to drop litter than women as they account for two-thirds of all cases.

Under the contract, 75 per cent of the six-man team’s time on patrol is meant to be focused on the city centre and main roads such as Hessle Road and Holderness Road with the remaining time allocated to covering other parts of the city.

The report shows hotspot areas in the city centre where the most penalty notices have been issued include Jameson Street, outside Paragon Interchange, King Edward Square, outside The Deep and in the Newland Avenue area.

While the majority of offenders had addresses in Hull, others were identified as living as far afield as Bridlington, Howden and Patrington.