Twenty people have been fined in a crackdown on littering in the Fens.

They were fined a total of £7,310 at Peterborough magistrates' court after failing to pay £75 fixed penalty notices (FPN) for littering offences.

Seventeen were convicted in their absence and ordered to pay a total of £400 - including a £220 fine, £150 court costs and a £30 victim surcharge.

A further three culprits, who admitted their offences by post, were fined £40, with £100 costs and £30 victim surcharge. All the fines and victim surcharges will go directly to the court.

Peter Murphy, Fenland District Council's portfolio holder for the environment, said all the defendants could have avoided paying the much more expensive court penalties - and getting a criminal record - if they had paid up within 21 days of being caught.

He said: 'The level of fines imposed by the magistrates show that they view people ruining the look of Fenland as seriously as we do. We don't delight in prosecuting people, but if doing so stops them dropping their litter on the floor then we will not hesitate to take action.

'Littering is a serious problem which costs us thousands of pounds to clear up each year. By taking enforcement action and issuing FPNs we will continue to make sure the perpetrators, not the local community, bear the cost of keeping our streets clean.'

More than 1,400 FPNs have been issued for environmental offences since the Council launched its Tidy Fenland enforcement campaign in June last year.

Working in partnership with private enforcement firm Kingdom on a 12-month basis, uniformed officers can issue FPNs for littering, dog fouling and fly-tipping, and since January, spitting and urinating offences too.