MONEY raised through the collection of litter fines has been used to clean up Wirral's 'grot spots'.

Eleven areas of private land regularly used by fly-tippers have been cleaned already this year after council intervention.

Funding came from fines for environmental offences such as littering, fly-tipping and not cleaning up after dogs.

So far this year, almost £7,000 has been spent on the clean-up, with almost £2,000 earmarked for further clean-ups.

The landowners were identified and reminded of their responsibilities to keep the areas clean and tidy.

If they didn't act on the advice, contractors were called in by the council to carry out the clean-up activity, with the council recouping the costs back from the owners.

Residents and local councillors were among those who nominated areas to be cleared as part of the latest phase of environmental improvement work.

Cllr Anita Leech, cabinet member for environment, said: "The areas being targeted in this operation are all places which we know are used by prolific fly-tippers.

"They are not public areas, so the responsibility lies with landowners – not the council - to take measures to keep their land clear and secure.

"Many landowners take their responsibilities seriously and look after their land as best they can.

"However, in other problem areas – where a landowner has been difficult to identify or they've been unresponsive, or where the land is just unregistered - we're using proceeds of littering fines to clean up our borough to the benefit of local communities.

"We will then seek to recover the costs wherever possible and take steps to deter future fly-tipping, including measures that will help the council to identify and prosecute anyone who does return and attempt to dump waste there again.

"We will not tolerate environmental crime."

Readers are able to report untidy land or 'grot spots' at wirral.gov.uk/grotspot.