LITTER louts should be forced to pick up rubbish as a punishment for their crimes, according to a South Cerney man.

Pensioner Peter Chadwick takes regular walks along the Spine Road towards the The Fisherman’s Rest  cafe with his family and is appalled by the amount of litter he finds on the verges by the side of the road.

His anger over the litter has prompted him to call for magistrates to give offenders community service orders that ask that they pick up litter.

Mr Chadwick also thinks it is a good idea that those caught littering are made to pick up litter wearing high visibility jackets emblazoned with the words “Litter Lout” in order to curb their behaviour.

Mr Chadwick, who is a former director of the Daily Mail, said: “There seems to be little that can be done to stop louts of all ages from throwing their litter away, the police do not have the resources following the cuts imposed by the government and the general public.”

“I think those doing community service should do it. I think it would be something that would be good.

“If we all stopped thoughtlessly throwing litter down there would not be a problem and the provision of more and regularly emptied bins in parking areas would help.”

Mr Chadwick added that he also thought that Cotswold District Council (CDC) should supply those who wanted to go on voluntary litter picks with the material to do so.

Cabinet member for health, environment and communities at CDC, Sue Coakley, said that the safe disposal of litter is important to the council and it welcomes offenders being made to pick up litter as a punishment for littering.

She said: “We recently mounted a campaign to emphasise the importance of keeping our towns and countryside tidy, highlighting that we provide litter bins across the whole District, and also ensure they are emptied on a regular basis. *If we catch people littering we will not hesitate to take action against them. When found guilty of a littering offence, the penalty can be high – a maximum of £2,500 for persistent offenders – and the damage to a person’s reputation can be very costly in many ways when they are named and shamed in public. We would also welcome offenders being made to pick up litter to atone for their misdemeanours but that is a matter for the courts.

She added that the council can provide materials to those who want to go on litter picks.

“We are always pleased when volunteers come forward to conduct a litter pick in any part of the District. We can supply bags, pickers, gloves and high visibility jackets. We can arrange a special collection of large numbers of filled bags. Otherwise, we can provide stickers so that filled bags presented for collection alongside volunteers’ residual waste will be picked up on their normal collection day.

Anyone interested in voluntary litter picking should call CDC on 01285 623000.