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".

Enforcement officer John Barwise said: "Our approach is to tackle such problems as litter and dog-fouling by education and awareness. We point out to people the consequences of their actions and explain it is an offence and they could be fined.

"On April 1, we formed an enforcement team in partnership with police community support officers and they regularly patrol litter hotspots in South Lakeland where there are public complaints.

"Although this is proving effective, one of the problems is that such a high-visibility approach means people are unlikely to commit a litter offence or allow dog-fouling in their presence. And to issue a fixed penalty notice you have to witness the offence happening.

"We are certainly not being soft on these offences and would warn people that we will use our full powers if necessary."

Mr Barwise said the council used a different approach when tackling fly-tipping, a problem that has been increasing all over Britain, mainly due to the cost and inconvenience associated with taking rubbish to official dumps. In South Lakeland it has been a particularly localised problem recently in Arnside, where an incident was reported at Grubbins Wood, Gatebeck, and The Helm, Kendal.

Mr Barwise insisted SLDC's policy was to prosecute through the courts in all fly-tipping cases where evidence was available.

"We have already had one successful prosecution and have investigated a number of others to gather evidence."

The Minister for Local Environmental Quality, Jonathan Shaw, said: "Fixed penalty notices are just one weapon that local authorities can use in the drive to reduce costly street cleansing. Clearly communities must work together and learn from each other if they are to achieve even better results in the future."

Ian Clayton, deputy chief executive of Keep Britain Tidy, said: "Our research has shown that the threat of a fine will encourage people not to litter, but people need to believe they are going to get caught.

"Fining is a crucial tool in achieving clean streets, especially when coupled with campaigning and education."