Council issued 20 fixed penalty notices

Craigavon had the second highest total. Its 672 figure in 2012/2013 had fallen by a third on the previous year’s figure. They handed out 1046 in 2011/12.

Latest figures reveal 3,742 fixed penalty notices were issued throughout Northern Ireland in the 12 months to April this year. By contrast, in 2011/12 some 3,268 fines were issued by local councils.

Fines issued for littering throughout NI have risen by 15% since tougher penalties came into force. The Clean Neighbourhood Act came into force in April 2012 which handed councils tough new powers to deal with litter.

Councils can hand out on-the-spot fines while nuisance parking, graffiti and fly-posting can attract an £80 fine.

A spokesperson for Lisburn City Council urged people to report littering of any kind.

In a statement, it read, “Lisburn City Council does not employ dedicated litter wardens to issue fines for littering. The Council has a number of staff who are authorised under the relevant legislation to issue Fixed Penalty Notice’s (FPN’s) for littering in addition to their other duties.

“Any comparison with the number of fixed penalties issues on a council by council basis is skewed by the scale of the resources allocated within these authorities to litter enforcement activities.

“To issue a FPN an offence needs to be witnessed. Members of the public can report incidents of littering, especially litter discarded from a vehicle. Members of the public will be asked to provide information including the date, time and location of the incident, the registration, make, model and colour of the vehicle and a description of the offender.”