BATTLE lines have been drawn in the war against dog fouling and vandalism.

A 28-strong hit squad has been recruited by landlord Glasgow Housing Association to crack down on anti-social tenants who blight their streets and schemes.

The new enforcement officers are warning those who let their dogs foul in streets and backcourts, drop litter, dump rubbish and graffiti property that they face fines, court action and even eviction.

As part of their campaign of tough action, the new squad – which is currently operating across the city – will work with Glasgow City Council to issue penalties to those who treat communal areas like dirty dumping grounds with disgusting dog dirt and litter.

The enforcement officers are the most recent phase of a £50million GHA plan to bring its housing estates and streets up to scratch and create cleaner and safer communities across the city.

GHA chairman Gordon Sloan said: "We want everyone to take pride in their community. The new enforcement officers will target those small numbers of residents who are making a mess and ruining the look of the area for everyone."

One of the new recruits is 20-year-old Thomas Spence, who lives and works in Drumchapel.

Thomas, who joined GHA as a modern apprentice in 2009, said he jumped at the chance to help make his local area better.

He told the Evening Times: "I'm looking forward to seeing an improvement in my community.

"I'm lucky, I live and work in Drumchapel, so I'll be able to see the difference the enforcement officers make on my own doorstep.

"To keep our communities free from problems like litter and dog fouling we have to change people's habits. It's about re-educating people to improve their own neighbourhoods.

"It's a challenging job but it's good and we've had a lot of training."

As well as cracking down on those who make a mess and vandalise, the new officers will provide support and guidance to resolve issues and they will work to remind residents of their responsibilities as a tenant.

After 10 months on the GHA apprenticeship programme, Thomas secured a job as an administrator in GHA's Drumchapel office and later moved on to become a customer service officer in Anniesland before joining the new squad of enforcement officers.

He said: "If a customer reports dog fouling or littering to their housing officer, they immediately flag it up to us. We then carry out door-to-door interviews with the residents of the area to get an idea of who the culprit is."

HE continued: "Our job is then to visit that person, issue a warning, tell them about the consequences of what they're doing and ask them to stop.

"If they don't, we contact Glasgow Community Safety Services who can issue a fine on that same day."

The enforcement officers are also working with other local housing associations and local schools and hope to start up litter patrols.

Thomas added: "These will help to keep the local areas tidy as well as educating the kids about keeping their neighbourhoods clean."

GHA, which is Scotland's largest social landlord with 43,000 homes, decided to recruit the team in response to feedback from tenants, homeowners and staff who say more needs to be done to clean up communities.

Gordon Matheson, Glasgow City Council leader and chairman of anti-litter campaign Clean Glasgow, recently joined some of the new recruits in Brand Street in Govan.

He said: "This new GHA squad is a valuable addition to the work being done by Clean Glasgow to tackle issues such as litter and dog fouling. Social landlords play a key role in improving Glasgow's environment.

"Eighty-five have signed up to the Clean Glasgow anti-dog fouling Charter and we have already had the eviction of one irresponsible dog owner."

GHA chairman Gordon Sloan added: "We are determined to make our communities the best in the city."

linzi.watson@eveningtimes.co.uk