Warning to "name and shame" litter louts in Solihull

LITTER louts have been warned that they face being named and shamed for failing to pick up rubbish or clear up dog mess.
Solihull Council has signalled it intends to take a tougher approach to those who ignore the law and is enlisting a new team of wardens to deal with the problem.
The pilot scheme, which will see the council enter into a deal with a private enforcement agency, will focus patrols in notorious hotspots.
Those caught littering or failing to clear up after their pet face being slapped with £75 fines (cut to £50 if they cough up within seven days).
Those who refuse to pay the penalty risk being hauled before the courts.
Coun Alison Rolf, cabinet member for stronger communities and partnerships, agreed to the two-year trial last month.
She suggested they could “blaze” the case of someone who had been caught across the media, to make clear to others that the behaviour wasn’t acceptable.
“How many times do you drive behind someone and they’re chucking stuff out of the window of their car?
“I do think we need to be seen to be more into the enforcement side of it as well as educating people that this isn’t the way to behave.
“It’s those people who are blatantly understanding what they are doing and still doing it.”
She said that she had often challenged those she had seen drop something on the ground, even when a bin was just a few feet away.
While Solihull Council said that clearing up after people incurs a considerable cost, it has admitted that its own enforcement officers haven’t previously treated it as a priority.
With limited resources available to tackle the problem, it decided to draw up plans to strike a deal with NSL (the firm which currently issues parking tickets).
Wardens will be equipped with body-cams to gather evidence, although the law will not allow them to operate covertly.
Caroline Naven, head of neighbourhood and regulatory services, insisted the scheme was designed to change behaviour as opposed to making money.
Smith’s Wood councillor Mark Wilson (Green) said that environmental crime was a major problem in his ward and neighbouring Castle Bromwich.
“Close to Lanchester Park there are little green pockets where there has been a lot of littering [and flytipping],” he said.
“In fact I found office furniture in one street - swivel chairs and what have you. It was bizarre.”
He suggested, however, that the council might have to be careful about the cases it publicised.
Superintendent Simon Inglis, from Solihull Police, said that officers would work closely alongside the council to promote the scheme.