NEIGHBOURS are waging war on litter louts after chipping in to buy CCTV cameras to catch them in the act.

More than 10 residents in Blackburn's New Park Street decided 'enough was enough' after their street was constantly being targeted by flytippers, litter dropping teens and irresponsible dog owners, who failed to clean up after their pets.

In a bid to change attitudes in the area, the residents collectively purchased a number of CCTV cameras and have enlisted support of Blackburn with Darwen Council, who have promised they will use the footage to prosecute offenders.

Bus driver John Ljevar, who has led the campaign, said he is striving to have the 'cleanest street in the UK'.

The 65-year-old said: "We are frustrated as the problem has got beyond a joke."

The residents hope as well as deterring litter louts the high-quality cameras, which have cost more than £400 to install, will encourage people to change the way they think about dumping rubbish.

Growing numbers of dumped food containers, crisp packets, bags of waste and dog faeces have repeatedly been found on the town centre road in the last year.

The cameras will run 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Signs have been installed on the road to indicate CCTV is in operation in the area.

Council bosses thanked the residents for caring about their environment and said any footage of a crime being committed would be used as evidence in a prosecution.

Mr Ljevar said: "I believe people need more education.

"I visited Germany recently and I accidentally dropped some litter and was told by several people to pick it up straight away.

"That is the attitude we need over here, we need everyone to be consciously aware that dropping litter is bad.

"It makes the street very dirty. I have caught people letting their dogs foul on the pavement and then seen them walk away without looking back. It is dreadful.

"It's all well and good dropping rubbish down a street that you don't live on, but what about everyone else who lives there?"

The 1990 Environmental Protection Act states anyone who drops, throws, deposits or leaves anything that would cause ‘defacement’ in a public place, is committing an offence.

Those caught or found to have dropped litter can be issued a fixed penalty of £75.

Larger amounts of rubbish, or flytipping, could result in a fine up to £50,000 or six months imprisonment.

Mr Ljevar said he hopes to spark a reaction and encourage others to clean up their act.

He said: "We've put up lots of flyers saying the cameras are there and what will happen if they are caught.

"I hope no one is caught and no litter is dropped, but those who think it's okay to dump rubbish should be punished.

"It's unfair on myself and my neighbours.

"We need to put pride back into our town and respect the area we live in."

The cameras will be able to take pictures and video but no sound will be recorded.

Cllr Jim Smith the executive member for environment on Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: "I have absolute support for John, who has got his neighbours involved and tried to make a difference.

“We have put up signs along with John’s saying there are cameras in the area and people will be filmed.

“We trialled some cameras last year and we found it brought the amount of fly-tipping and rubbish down because people were caught and fined.

“Most of the borough is clean but there are areas that have rubbish, we should not kid ourselves.

“John is a good citizen and trying to do the best he can to improve his area.”

Mr Ljevar said he is aiming high and won't stop until he street is completely rubbish free.

He said: “I aim to get the cleanest road in Britain. I want it completely rid of rubbish, fly-tipping and all the rest.

“If my street can do it, it may help others to do the same and have a knock on affect.”

Tony Watson, head of service for environment, public protection, environment and leisure at Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: “We already have CCTV that we use and which we can move to different locations in the borough, but with limited resources and we can’t hope to cover all areas unfortunately.

“We always ask for residents to provide evidence if they come across any enviro-crime activities such as fly-tipping so this will hopefully help in our fight against this.

"The cameras will act as a deterrent and also provide evidence against those who commit crime and I want to thank these residents for doing this and we will help them in any way possible to crackdown on the small minority of people who carry out these crimes and blight communities.

“This is a great example of the Your Call scheme and shows that people can band together to tackle anti-social behaviour and make a difference.”