Fewer than two people a month are being fined by West Yorkshire Police on the spot for dropping litter, the Telegraph & Argus can reveal.

The fines were supposed to make it easier for police to crack down on litter louts by avoiding the need to pursue them through the courts.

But Government figures released to Parliament show that, in the 14-month period from November 2004 to December 2005, following the introduction of penalty notices for littering, West Yorkshire police officers slapped £50 fines on only 27 people.

Three were handed out between November and December 2004 and an additional 24 imposed in 2005.

Some UK forces were handing out more than 100 fines over the period.

The law was changed in November 2004 when littering was added to the list of minor offences which could be dealt with by penalty notices. In total, 757 were handed out across England and Wales.

Before the change in the law from January 2003 to November 2004 59 people were hauled before the courts. Ten litterbugs appeared before magistrates in 2003 increasing to 49 in 2004.

A Home Office spokesman defended Penalty Notices for Disorder (PNDs), arguing they provided police with a quick and effective disposal for dealing with minor, disorderly offending.

The spokesman said: "Issuing a PND takes approximately 30 minutes compared with two and a half hours to prepare an evidential case file. The police officer is then able to return to patrolling the street and does not have to attend court.

"In turn, courts are freed up from hearing these minor cases which would only result in a fine, allowing them to deal with more serious cases more quickly."

The criminal justice system saved about £100 for every PND issued. A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said: "The work of a police officer has to be prioritised. The tackling of anti-social behaviour, which includes the dropping of litter, is something ourselves and our partners continue to crack down on.

"Those who are found to be dropping litter will face immediate punishment through the issuing of a fine."

Last February, the T&A reported that more than a quarter of all fines on litter bugs in Yorkshire and Humber last year were handed out in Bradford,.

Various agencies handed out more on-the-spot fines to litterbugs than any other area of Yorkshire during 2004 to 2005.

The figures, released by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), showed that a total of 624 fines were handed out in the Bradford area for environmental offences ranging from flytipping to dog fouling.

Nearly 1,700 fines were imposed across the whole of Yorkshire and Humberside.

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