LITTER enforcement officers are cracking down on smokers who drop their butts in the streets of Cheltenham – and 28 have already been caught.

They were handed £80 fixed penalty notices by council workers who have been patrolling the town since April.

Notices have also been given out for dropping food wrappers, discarding plastic glasses and failing to keep dogs on leads.

Cheltenham Borough Council said 47 notices had been handed out between April 1 and August 16.

Clive Evans, street scene enforcement officer for the town centre, said: "The main thing we see is people dropping cigarettes.

"In general people accept it. They hold their hands up and say they have been caught.

"I have seen people drop cigarette butts within yards of a bin and near to notices saying there is a £2,500 maximum fine for dropping litter."

Yesterday, the Echo accompanied Mr Evans on a patrol of the town centre.

One woman was handed a fixed penalty notice for dropping a cigarette butt.

She broke down in tears and said she would fight the fine.

Other smokers said the council was right to fine litterbugs.

Damon Hammond, 58, from St Marks, Cheltenham, said: "There are stubbers and bins so people can put them out there.

"I make sure I put my cigarette butt in a bin.

"I think an £80 fine is fair enough. It will discourage a lot of people."

A 16-year-old smoker, of College Road, who did not want to be named, added: "I just wait until I see a bin before I get rid of my cigarette butts.

"I don't think people should complain. You don't expect everyone else to drop litter so I don't see why it should be different with cigarettes."

The council's street scene enforcement officers are also on the look out for problems including fly tipping, abandoned vehicles, rubbish bags being put out too far in advance of collection and A-boards being left out without a permit.

Barbara Exley, head of public protection at the borough council, said: "We have brought together key services to deliver a more co-ordinated and effective approach to the enforcement of street scene and public spaces issues.

"We have seen the positive impact initiatives like this have made elsewhere and we are really excited to see some of that success coming to Cheltenham."

The £80 fixed penalty notice for littering, which includes dropping gum, is reduced to £50 if it has been paid within 10 days.

The fine for businesses not complying with the Trade Waste Duty of Care is £300, reduced to £240 if paid within 14 days.

Simon Clark, director of the Freedom Organisation for the Right to Enjoy Smoking Tobacco, said: "The really important thing is that any litter campaign must be seen to be fair and not to be targeting the smokers in particular.

"There are all sorts of other forms of littering.

"There are many smokers who do smoke responsibly and don't ever throw their butts away."