OWNERS of backyards left full of rubbish face being fined if they are snapped by camera-wielding council officers.

Hyndburn Council plan to take the drastic new measures to combat the problem of rubbish in back alleys.

The measure was touted as a group of Hyndburn councillors pulled on their rubber gloves to tidy up messy alleyways at the weekend - but admitted they were not curing the problem.

The representatives, Tony Dobson, Ann Scaife and Brian Roberts from Hyndburn Council, and County Councillor Wendy Dwyer, took to the streets in the Barnfield area clearing away rubbish and litter as part of a 'rubbish amnesty' in the area.

But Coun Tony Dobson, Barnfield representative, admitted they were just delaying the issue, and needed the public's help to solve the problem of rubbish being dumped in back alleys.

He said: "The problem is we aren't actually curing the problem. We need to get away from people just chucking things over the back wall when they're ready.

"Everybody else has to get it to the tip but the thought is, we will just chuck it over the wall, and the council will clean it."

Coun Dobson, also deputy leader of the council, admitted that just hours after the clean-up finished, a bed had already been dumped in an alleyway.

Now the council may be looking at new ways to combat the problem. He said: "Although we did it because it was such a mess. we are not curing the problem. We are coming up with other ideas now.

"Things like photographing people's back yards we find that are full, and if we find the rubbish in the backs we just fine the tenant or the landlord."

Hyndburn has tried various techniques to try to tidy up the borough. Officers sifting through rubbish bags led to several prosecutions.