A CRACKDOWN on offences such as dog fouling and flytipping in County Durham has seen more than 100 fixed penalty notices issued.

Durham County Council’s neighbourhood protection team which tackles environmental crimes issued 107 fines during November.

Seventy-nine of these were given for littering while two were handed out to residents who failed to clear up their dog’s waste.

A further 26 were issued to people who failed to comply with a litter clearing notice.

The council later prosecuted two of those residents at magistrates’ courts for non-payment of their fixed penalty notices given for littering.

The team also investigated 171 incidents of flytipping and it issued 118 advisory letters and 32 litter clearing notices during November.

Ian Hoult, neighbourhood protection manager at the council, said: “County Durham is a beautiful place and we, along with the majority of people who live here, want to keep it that way.

“Environmental crimes like littering, dog fouling and flytipping blight our communities and they are a real concern to residents.

“We urge anyone with information about such incidents and those responsible to report it to us so that we can investigate and take action.”

Anyone wishing to report an environmental crime should contact the county council’s neighbourhood protection team on 03000-261000.