ENFORCEMENT officials at South Lakeland District Council insist they are not being soft on litter louts and fly-tippers, despite never issuing any fixed penalty notices against offenders.
The authority said it preferred to use an "education and awareness" approach rather than fining offenders on the spot, after a Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) website compared the relative enforcement performances of all of England's councils.
Although the total number of fixed penalty notices issued for litter rose by 32 per cent from 33,033 to 43,624 in 2006/07, SLDC and neighbouring Eden District Council were among a minority of councils which had yet to hand any out.
But SLDC has warned it will use its powers to the full "if necessary".
For full story see the December 7 edition of The Westmorland Gazette.
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