Litter crackdown in Monmouthshire 'to see justice applied'

A tougher approach on littering is to be taken by Monmouthshire council, amid complaints it has failed to act.

Education and enforcement will be key themes of a new strategy, said to be the first by a council in Wales.

Local campaigner David Jackman said people "wanted to see justice applied" by the only Welsh council to issue no fixed penalty notices over three years.

Labour councillor Roger Harris said motorists threw litter from their cars knowing there would be "no comeback".

"They are very happy to drive along in their cars and throw stuff out of the window," he told the council's stronger communities scrutiny meeting on Thursday.

"The only way to get nasty with them is to start hitting them in their pockets."

The litter strategy is being launched after last year saw the first increase in littering in the county for a decade, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Clearing litter from Monmouthshire's main roads alone costs £150,000 a year, the draft strategy says.

Mr Jackman, from Crucorney Environmental Group, said research showed enforcement and fines were vital to an effective litter strategy.

He also called for Monmouthshire to provide more bins, saying the number compared with neighbouring Herefordshire was "dire", and asked for more support for volunteers.

Lisa Dymock, a member of the ruling Conservative group, said the council needed to increase its work with businesses to tackle littering.

The strategy will now be finalised before being presented to councillors for approval.