COUNCIL bosses are to come down hard on litter louts and irresponsible dog owners by toughening up street wardens' powers.

Until now, the wardens have been giving Hyndburn's messy citizens the opportunity to avoid a fixed penalty notice for £25 by clearing up their dog dirt and litter.

But council chiefs are so fed up with the problem that they have have now ruled the dog and litter wardens should issue the penalty ticket straight away if they are satisfied an offence has been committed.

William Hickson became the first litter warden in Lancashire when he was taken on by Hyndburn Council last year as part of a drive to clear up the borough.

Hyndburn environmental health manager Steve Todd said there had been between 30 to 40 notices issued by litter wardens over the past two years, with some of them eventually being forced to pay up at Hyndburn Magistrates Court.

The wardens, he said, are trained to deal with confrontational behaviour and work closely with CCTV operators and the police and can use a walky talky to call for help.

The offenders are given a ticket and 14 days to pay, with the threat of legal action if they refuse. He said: "Despite the work of our wardens, we still have a problem with dog fouling and litter so we decided to take a tougher line.

"The numbers of fixed penalty fines will probably increase, though it would be better for people to have a rethink about their actions.

"There is a potential for confrontation with members of the public, but we have experienced staff who know how to deal with these things.

"I would remind everyone the law requires them to pick up litter which they drop and for dog owners to clean up their mess.

"Failing to do this or pay the fixed penalty fine can result in a maximum fine of up to £2,500 being imposed."

Dog warden Steve Wood said : "Until now we have been using a softly, softly, approach but I think zero tolerance is great.

"Dog dirt can cause the disease Toxicara, which can cause blindness, and it is preventable if dog owners act more responsibly."

He added: "The whole thing is like giving out a parking ticket. People may get angry, but they don't give me any major problems."