A CRACKDOWN on litter louts is about to take an unusual twist as the culprits will be forced to pay out for prizes to reward people adopting a cleaner act.

The "carrot and stick" approach in the blitz on street foulers will see roving council wardens handing out raffle tickets to people spotted placing their waste in the bin.

It is the latest turn in an ongoing City of York Council clampdown - driven by the high-profile York Pride campaign - to clean up the city by tackling problems such as litter and graffiti.

Prizes for good litter behaviour will be partly funded from the fines imposed while local firms, are being urged to support the cause by donating goods to give away to people who do their bit.

Karen Baddeley, from the council's Street Environment Service, explained: "Local businesses have an interest in the appearance of the city and members of the Business Pride initiative have been very supportive of our clean-up campaign. We've written to businesses across the city to ask them to provide a small incentive to encourage people not to drop litter.

"Rather than simply punishing people who drop litter, we want to be able to thank people who put their waste in a bin.

"Throughout the summer holidays, we'll be handing out raffle tickets to people who are disposing of their rubbish in the correct way and we hope that businesses will be able to help us by providing prizes for the lucky winners. Money from litter fines will also be used to fund the prizes."

The crackdown will be launched to coincide with the start of the summer holidays, when the city is teeming with tourists, young people and residents.

All seven street environment officers will be covering the city, with the help of Police Community Support Officers, to fine litter louts and reward people who use waste bins.

Prizes could include a wide range of gifts, such as vouchers and a day trip, specifically targeted at teenagers and young people.

Meanwhile, City of York Council has also welcomed the Government's Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, which empowers councils to take tougher action.

Coun Ruth Potter, York Labour group's environmental spokeswoman, said: "It is excellent news that the Government is granting these new powers to councils to clean up local neighbourhoods.

"Councils will now be able to take swifter more effective action against a whole host of environmental problems from fly tipping to noise nuisance."

The message coming out of The Guildhall is that the council means business in the war on rubbish.

Earlier this year, the council proposed to hit people who discard gum on the city streets with £50 on-the-spot fines.

The drive came after the Government started a year-long process to bring legislation into effect which will mean litter louts facing £75 penalties for dropping items, including cigarette butts and gum.

In June, council chiefs revealed they had issued 29 on-the-spot fines for York smokers who dropped butts since May 2004, with 33 fines given out overall.

Under new laws, anyone caught dropping litter on public land is forced to pay a £50 fixed penalty notice within 14 days, or face a fine of up to £2,500.

The Press reported the case of shop worker Bradley Agar, fined £50 for discarding his cigarette outside Company clothing shop on Church Street, York, in February.

He was on a stretch of pavement he swept as part of his daily routine, just yards from his broom.

Bradley protested about the lack of cigarette bins in the city centre, arguing there was nowhere safe to extinguish them safely.

Pensioner Brian Gray, from Chapelfields, York, was fined £50 for dropping a roll-up - he claimed he was targeted because of his age while gangs of youths were left unpunished.

As a result, Brian tried out the council's Butts Out disposal ash-trays, which were introduced weeks after the new fining system started.

Anyone who wants to donate a raffle prize should phone the York Pride Action Line on 01904 551551.

Updated: 11:48 Monday, July 11, 2005