A WARNING has been issued urging litter louts and irresponsible dog owners to clean up their act or fall foul of spot penalties.

Tough new enforcement measures will be put in place across Hyndburn from October 1, with the borough council teaming up with Kingdom Services, which also handles enforcement action in neighbouring Blackburn with Darwen.

The company will carry out enforcement work on behalf of the council through visible enforcement patrol teams.

They will have the authority to issue on-the-spot fines to anyone they catch failing to clean up after their dog, or dropping litter, cigarette stubs and chewing gum on the floor.

Hyndburn Council leader Cllr Miles Parkinson said: “Litter louts and irresponsible dog owners who blight our streets, parks and open spaces should watch out as their actions are likely to land them with a big on-the-spot fine soon.

“We’re introducing tough new measures to stop our streets being blighted because our law-abiding residents are fed up with the selfish few irresponsible dog owners and litter louts who spoil the area for everyone else.”

There will be a two-week settling-in period to allow people to get used to the new scheme, when the enforcement team will be telling people about the new arrangements rather than issuing fines when the scheme launches.

The move comes after the roll-out of the borough council’s new recycling scheme which involved moving from bags and boxes to wheeled bins.

Cllr Parkinson said: “We’re now building on this and taking environmental enforcement to the next level with this big clampdown on people who let their dogs foul and don’t pick it up and those who drop litter, cigarettes or chewing gum on the floor."