A TEAM of council wardens are clamping down on litter bugs by issuing fines to people who are caught dropping rubbish.

Chester-le-Street District Council launched the fixed penalty scheme in a bid to tackle the mounting problem of rubbish in the town.

Litter bugs, if caught, will be fined £50.

At the start of the year, the district council introduced fixed penalty fines for dog owners who failed to clean up after their pets.

To date the council has prosecuted 29 people and issued written cautions to more than 300 residents.

Now the council has trained a small army of wardens to catch litter bugs and has awarded them new powers to issue on the spot fines.

Last week, the wardens staged a blitz on the litter bugs, patrolling the streets and issuing about half a dozen fixed penalty notices.

Deputy council leader Simon Henig said: "We have invested in a number of additional resources to collect litter in the district, but there is still a problem and it is getting worse.

"Local residents are fed up with the minority of people who spoil the environment and the time has come to take immediate action. The amount of litter being dropped is just going up and up and up.

"We have trained up town centre wardens and wardens at the Riverside to issue fines. But they won't be waiting in bushes and springing out on people, it will be part of their normal patrols."

One of the council's enforcement officers, John Taylor, said from now on the wardens will regularly patrol litter hot-spots and confront people they see dropping rubbish.

He said the wardens do have the power to fine school children, but are not keen to tackle the youth offending through fines, preferring instead to go into schools to raise awareness of the issue and organise litter-picks around schools and the town.

Wardens can also fine people for throwing cigarette butts onto the pavement.

Mr Taylor said: "If somebody throws anything like a cigarette packet or sweet packet in the street, we can confront them and ask for their names and addresses and give them a fixed penalty. They will have 14 days to pay. If they don't, it could go to court if the council thinks there is sufficient evidence."