LITTER louts in Glasgow have been hit with fines of almost £800,000 in just 10 months.

Between April last year and February this year, the city handed out 15,910 fixed penalty notices to smokers who dropped cigarettes or cigarette packets in the street.

A total of 1566 fines were presented to dog owners who failed to clean up after their pets, 1013 to people dropping litter, 41 for spitting out chewing gum and 15 for fly-tipping.

Just last week, the penalty for dropping litter increased from £50 to £80.

And the fine for fly-tipping rose from £50 to £200.

Glasgow City Council leader Gordon Matheson said: "Since its inception, Clean Glasgow has been at the forefront of our camp-aign of education and en-forcement against littering, dog-fouling and fly-tipping.

"We have aimed to change people's habits by making it clear irresponsible behaviour is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

"The majority of our residents and visitors love and respect Glasgow.

"However, there remains an element that continues to selfishly pollute the city - the city they live and work in - through their unacceptable actions.

"This rise in penalty charges shows we are serious about cracking down on these environmental crimes.

"Not only that, it means they will hopefully think twice as these are substantial penalties we will be hitting them with.

"I believe this will aid us in our vision for Glasgow to be a cleaner, safer, better place where people take responsibility for and take pride in the city's appearance.

"Clean Glasgow will continue to work towards this through a range of initiatives focusing on education, engagement, enhancement and enforcement."

To report a litter lout call the new Clean Glasgow hotline on 0300 343 7027.

vivienne.nicoll@ eveningtimes.co.uk