A team of officers from the Environment Agency have joined the fight to put an end to the fly-tippers and litter louts who plague Witham and surrounding villages.
The council has granted the seven agency officers the same powers as their own officers so they can also hit illegal dumpers with £50 on-the-spot fines.
Spokesman Chris Trim said: "This has added to the variety of ways that careless residents or visitors can be reminded that littering is undesirable and costly.
"The power is new to Environment Agency staff, whose work usually involves larger scale waste problems."
Colin Batchelor, the district council's principal environmental health officer, made the announcement in response to Witham Town Council's suggestion that they were not trying hard enough to bring offenders to court.
Mr Batchelor said: "I am a little surprised at your committee's comments bearing in mind the successful prosecutions for fly-tipping and the abandonment of vehicles."
He highlighted recent cases of a woman fined £500 plus £100 costs for dumping a car, a dog owner fined £100 with £80 costs for leaving dog mess at Hatfield Peverel, and the Witham man fined £150 and ordered to pay £100 costs for fly-tipping from a van in Terling.
They were, he insisted, trying very hard but could not prosecute without evidence.
Published Thursday, June 5, 2003
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