Litter man

Forget Superman, Batman and even The Wombles - a new superhero is joining the fight against people who drop litter.

You can meet Litter Man in the city centre, where he’ll be roving around for most of this month.

He’ll be encouraging people to use some of the 1,000 extra litter bins which the council has provided on our streets. And that means everything, from chewing gum to chip paper, needs to be put in a bin.

“We are taking the issue of litter very seriously,” said Mark Cornall, Street Scene enforcement manager at the council. He added: “It’s not attractive to residents or visitors to the city, it can attract rats and it costs the taxpayer thousands of pounds each year to clean up.”

Litter Man will be around putting out his message until April 24. After that, people who drop litter could face a £75 fixed-penalty charge if they drop litter.

Issued by council enforcement officers, the fixed-penalty charge could lead to a court appearance and a maximum £2,500 fine, if not paid within 14 days.

Initially, the enforcement will take place in the city centre and Holderness Road - two areas highlighted as ‘litter hot spots.’