MORE than 800 people in Wrexham have been slapped with fines for littering and dog fouling offences over the past three years.
A Freedom of Information request to Wrexham Council has revealed that since 2009, 251 people have been issued with fixed penalty notices in relation to dog fouling offences, while a further 589 people have been hit with fines for littering offences.
In 2009/10 116 people were fined for dog fouling offences, followed by 90 in 2010/11 and 45 in 2011 to date.
A total of 313 people were fined for littering offences in 2009/10, 185 in 2010/11 and 91 this year to date.
Wrexham Council says the offenders were caught out by enforcement officers.
The current fixed penalty notice charge is £75 for both offences, but failure to pay means prosecution could be sought through the courts with a potential maximum fine of £1,000 for dog fouling and £2,500 for littering.
A Wrexham Council spokesman said up to 10 prosecutions for non-payment are sought through the courts each year.
The spokesman said: “Prosecutions are taken for cases of non-payment where a sufficient prospect of conviction exists and this is in the public interest.”
The figures come after the Leader published the story last month about pensioner Derek Williams, 77, of Rhosddu who was fined £75 for dropping a cigarette butt out of his car window.
The pensioner believed he was caught out by a spy camera attached to a car, which he claims pulled up behind him at traffic lights.
But Wrexham Council denied it uses “spy camera cars” and says he was observed by an officer.
A spokesman said: “Wrexham Council does not use a camera on vehicles to identify dog fouling and littering offences as the use of this type of surveillance to identify these offences is prohibited by current legislation.
“All offences where action follows involves officers witnessing and reporting the offence.”
And earlier this month dog owner Richard Paul Brereton, of Daniels Drive, Ruabon, was hit with a bill of £1,000 for allowing his dog to foul.
Brereton was issued with two fixed penalty notices when he was caught out by an enforcement officer.
But after failing to pay the fines and giving false details to officers he landed up in court where he was fined £175 for each dog fouling incident, £435 for the offence of providing false details and ordered to pay almost £200 in court costs.
Cllr David Bithell, Wrexham Council's deputy leader, said: “Our most recent prosecution saw a fine of £1,000 being awarded by Wrexham magistrates. By taking this course of action we are sending a very clear message that this type of behaviour will not be tolerated and that we will not hesitate to take action.”