LITTER louts are being targeted by Darlington Borough Council's team of uniformed warden in a big crackdown on rubbish dumping.

In the past three weeks, 33 people in the town centre have been issued with fixed-penalty fines for dropping litter or fly-tipping.

All the £50 fines have been handed out to people in the Denes and Northgate areas.

Darlington council, which employs the wardens, has estimated that its workers collect 200 kilograms of discarded litter on the streets in the town centre every day of the week.

The new crackdown was launched after residents living near the town centre complained about litter being left in their streets and large amounts of fly tipping taking place in alleys.

The team of wardens is targeting areas where the most complaints about fly- tipping have been made, in the hope of catching the culprits in the act.

The wardens are aiming to fine untidy local people, as well as visitors to the town, and letters are being sent out to residents in the worst effected areas, telling them that patrols are being carried out.

The Darlington team of wardens is one of just a handful country-wide that can hand out fines while they are on patrol and they are hoping to catch most culprits red-handed.

They are also working to trace fly tippers from any evidence left at the scene.

The fine for littering has been doubled since April, when new rules were introduced meaning anyone caught dropping litter on the streets of Darlington or failing to clean up after a pet can now be fined £50, compared with £25 previously.

Stephen Harker, the council's cabinet member for community protection, said, "Littering and fly-tipping are unsightly and expensive to clear up. We are determined to clamp down on offenders.

"Neighbourhood wardens now work with our team of environment wardens, with the power to issue on-the-spot fines.

"So we now have more people out and about and able to punish the people who are responsible for mess in the streets."