Crackdown on litter louts and dog mess offenders in Worksop town centre

Culprits who deliberately drop litter or fail to clear up their dog’s mess are being targeted in a new crackdown.
Councillor Julie Leigh with officers from District Enforcement.Councillor Julie Leigh with officers from District Enforcement.
Councillor Julie Leigh with officers from District Enforcement.

Bassetlaw District Council has introduced environmental enforcement officers, who have the power to issue £100 Fixed Penalty Notices. Anyone offender not paying could face prosecution and a potential fine of up to £2,500.

Working in conjunction with the company District Enforcement, officers have begun patrolling town centres, including Worksop, and some of the district’s larger and more rural villages.

Councillor Julie Leigh, cabinet member for Neighbourhoods at Bassetlaw District Council, said: “Littering and dog fouling are some of the most reported issues to councillors and we are taking a more targeted and proactive approach to tackling these anti-social activities.

Residents tell us time and again how frustrating it is to see litter, cigarette butts and dog poo out in their communities. Our environment services team and caretakers on housing estates work extremely hard to clean up communities, but a small minority of people continue to drop litter or fail to clean up after their dog. As a consequence, Bassetlaw District Council has introduced proactive enforcement to target this unacceptable behaviour.

“We want people to take pride in where they live and we are confident that the professional approach of District Enforcement will help to change people’s attitudes and behaviour and reduce the amount of litter and dog poo on our streets and in our communities.”

Colin Buchanan, head of operations at District Enforcement welcomed the partnership. He said: “District Enforcement is excited to be working in partnership with Bassetlaw District Council and play our part in keeping such a beautiful borough clean and tidy, with our sole ambition to reduce the amount of littering and dog fouling on the streets.

“We have a dedicated team of officers who, on a daily basis, patrol the district and take a fair and proportionate approach to the issuance of a fixed penalty notice for any environmental crime offences they witness.”

“All of our officers carry identification, wear body cameras as part of their District Enforcement uniform and will never ask for fines to be paid on the spot.”