A CAMPAIGN cracking down on litter louts saw seven people fined last month.

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council launched its No ifs, No Butts campaign at the start of the year, warning people that dropping cigarette butts or any other types of litter on the borough streets could be a costly mistake.

Seven people received a criminal conviction along with fines, ranging between £105 and £440, at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court on November 26 in the latest round of prosecutions brought by the council for littering offences.

The offenders also had to pay additional costs including a court charge of £150 and a victim surcharge, bringing the total cost to more than £700.

So far, 12 people have faced court action and more are still outstanding.

Responding to resident feedback that litter-free streets are a priority, council officers, including the community support patrol team, have been issuing fines to people that are caught dropping litter.

Cigarette butts are the main cause of litter and in one day alone, 1,850 cigarette butts were counted on the centre’s streets.

Since the launch of the anti-litter campaign launch, the council has issued 112 warnings and 178 Fixed Penalty Notices.

Although 78 per cent of the fixed penalties were paid without further action, those who did not pay up faced prosecution in the courts.

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s cabinet member for communities, service delivery and improvement Councillor Robert Tate, said: “The council’s crackdown on littering in the borough has had a very successful start and I hope these recent prosecutions will demonstrate to people that littering, whether it’s a cigarette butt or anything else, will not be tolerated on our streets.

“So please keep the borough streets cleaner, and avoid littering fines, by using the waste bins or taking your litter home.”

For more information on the campaigns that the community support patrol officers are doing across the borough, visit www.basingstoke.gov.uk/cspos or call 01256 844844.