A HIGH-profile campaign to target smokers who drop cigarette butts has resulted in just eight people being fined.

Despite the thousands of cigarette butts that have been thoughtlessly discarded on Bournemouth's streets, the council has issued just eight fixed penalty notices since July 1.

Poole has performed slightly better, issuing a total of 20 fines for discarded cigarette ends.

Seven more are pending, and a targeted enforcement operation in Falkland Square on Wednesday caught out another 10 people, who could now find themselves slapped with fixed penalty notices.

But a leading Bournemouth councillor has vowed that the imminent introduction of new "super wardens" will change things and stated: "We are determined to clean the town up."

Cllr David Smith, whose responsibilities include street cleaning, said: "Eight fines is not good enough but that will change.

"Recruitment for the so-called super wardens' is going on as we speak and I think they will make a real difference.

"The people who are dropping litter will be targeted.

"The campaign to target litterers will be a permanent one and will be waged across Bournemouth, not just the town centre.

"I intend to make this happen. I am determined that the people who drop litter will be made to pay.

"Why should we spend a million pounds picking up somebody else's litter?

"Bournemouth is a beautiful place and we want to keep it that way."

The new team of civil enforcement officers should be ready to start patrols across Bournemouth by Christmas.

Equipped with new uniforms and radios, they will be able to issue fixed penalty notices to people who commit environmental crimes, including littering, dog fouling and graffiti, as well as those who breach parking regulations.

Cllr Don Collier, portfolio holder for the environment at Borough of Poole, said the council was considering plans for a band of uniformed enforcement officers, but already had park rangers, beach rangers, parking wardens, and recently police community support officers, who were able to issue the notices.

He said: "We encourage them to do that where appropriate, but we wouldn't want our staff putting themselves at risk."

He said officers were working with bars and pubs and handing out portable ashtrays.

"It's education and prevention then enforcement," he added.