Thousands being hit with fines by wardens

Tuesday 27th October 2009, 10:40AM GMT.

Wardens have hit more than 2,200 people with fines for offences such as dropping litter, dog fouling and graffiti in a year in Sandwell – dwarfing the the number handed out in neighbouring towns .

West Bromwich has been named as the biggest hotspot for litter fines, where nearly 1,000 people were caught, nearly four times as many as Smethwick.

Fixed penalty notices handed out in Sandwell for environmental offences in the past 12 months would be worth more than £165,000 to the council if they were paid in full.

The figures are far higher than other authorities in the Black Country, with just 336 fines issued in Dudley and 34 in Walsall during the same period.

A report to Sandwell Council environment and sustainability scrutiny panel on the street warden service revealed the borough was ranked second worst in the country for litter.

Latest figures show that in the past 12 months, wardens handed out 2,207 fixed penalty notices for environmental offences, with 1,890 of those for dropping litter in the street.

The most were issued in West Bromwich town centre, where 992 people were hit with fines, compared with 283 in Smethwick and 232 in Oldbury.

Elsewhere, there were 300 fines issued in Dudley for littering in the past 12 months and a further 36 dog fouling offences. In Walsall, just 25 fixed penalty notices were issued for littering and nine for dog fouling.

In Lichfield, 45 fixed penalty tickets were issued for littering and 14 for dog fouling. Between January and September wardens in Wolverhampton issued 156 fixed penalties for dropping litter. Councillor Barry Findlay, Wolverhampton Council’s environment chief said: “The figures show we have been firm about this.”

Cannock Chase Council issued 60 fixed penalty notices in 2008-2009, with 38 of those were paid in full, generating £1,755.


  1. 1
    Mr Cynical

    Between 2008-2009, Cannock Chase Council only generate £1755 in 60 fines?
    How much are these Wardens costing in the same period? Would one extra street cleaner be a much cheaper alternative?

    If only 60 fines were handed out in a 365 day period, surely that job is pretty much redundant??

    Report abuse

  2. 2
    GSS

    Mr Cynical said: “Would one extra street cleaner be a much cheaper alternative?”

    What would be cheaper is if that part of the population that drops litter starts to care about their environment.

    It is not fair that the taxpayers who take care of their district should have to pay for the offences of those who can not be bothered think.

    Report abuse

  3. 3
    Mr Cynical

    Of course it’s not fair GSS, but my point was that it would use less tax payers money to clean it up rather than pay someone to walk the streets looking for people to catch litterbugs red handed. Since they only caught 60 people over a year, that’s less than one every 4 days.
    Give the street cleaners the power to hand out fines.. two birds, one stone.

    Report abuse

  4. 4
    phil

    As someone who had it drilled into them not to drop letter I am pleased to see sandwell tackling this issue.

    Report abuse



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