Leeds City Council dishes out £1.8 million in fixed penalty notices

Statistics show the amount due from fines sent out in 2017 was nearly six times the total for 2012.

Between the beginning of 2012 and the end of 2017, the authority charged £1,803,100 in fixed penalty notices.

The total number of fines due from offences in 2012 was £77,525. This rose to £449,075 during 2017.

Fixed penalty notices are on-the-spot fines made for offences like fly-tipping and dog fouling, although the overwhelming majority in Leeds are made for littering offences, which usually carry a £75 fine.

Other offences listed include commercial waste issues, rodents and smoke from bonfires.

Four £75 fines were handed out for “stray dogs at large” in the same day in Hunslet during August 2014.

Chief executive of Keep Britain Tidy Alison Ogden-Newton said: “We agree that enforcement is an important part of getting the message across and getting people to stop and think about how they are behaving.

“Local authorities have to get people to pick it up before getting to the enforcement stage – you have to have the public on your side, but we have to get them to stop and think.

“There is a percentage of the population that need the threat of the fine, but it’s important to keep the public on your side and not alienating people.”

On possible reasons for the increase, she added: “A lot of authorities are taking this more seriously. It’s a shame because this is a reflection of how people are behaving.”

Leeds City Council has been approached for comment.

Fixed Penalty Notices in numbers (January 2012 – June 2018):

Dog attacking human – 1

Stray dog at large – 5

Dog fouling – 166

Flyering without consent – 170

Flytipping – 422

Litter problems – 21,786