JUST two fines were handed out for dog fouling in Test Valley in all of 2014, triggering calls for the council to “wake up, get a grip and tidy our dirty town up”.

Between January and December last year two fines were issued for dog mess, one for an abandoned vehicle and 15 for littering across the entire borough, the Advertiser can reveal.

In the majority of the 24 wards across Test Valley, no fines were dished out for any of these offences in 2014.

It comes as scores of readers have complained about the state of Andover.

Carer Michael James, 61, said: “There just aren’t enough bins around; you walk up Vigo Road and how many do you see? I haven’t seen any.

“I see dog mess absolutely everywhere, on the streets and in our parks, it’s disgusting.”

The low level of fines contrasts sharply with the number of parking tickets issued by Test Valley Borough Council.

The Advertiser revealed a fortnight ago that wardens slapped more than 10,000 tickets on vehicles in 2014, collecting more than £275,000.

For the 18 environmental fines handed out, TVBC has collected £550 in paid notices plus £560 in fines and £470 in costs paid following cases at magistrates’ courts.

Nine of the 18 were paid within the time limit, in five cases the person was found guilty of the offence and two cases are still in progress.

Two will not be progressed because either false information was given by the offender or the culprit moved away without leaving a forwarding address.

Mr James is planning to stand as an independent candidate for the borough council in the Winton ward – where just one fine was handed out in 2014 – and has urged officials to make more of an effort.

The dad-of-two, of Batchelors Barn Road, added: “They need to send residents letters warning them about regular patrols.

“It’s time they woke up to the problem, got a grip and tidied the place up.”

TVBC admitted the number of fines issued was declining but attributed the fall to the presence of its enforcement officers, though it said it could not say how many council workers have the ability to issue fixed penalty notices.

A spokesman said: “The council spends more than £850,000 a year on street cleaning including litter picking, sweeping, emptying bins, removing fly-tipped waste and enforcement costs.

“Council enforcement officers regularly patrol busy areas and uphold the council’s zero tolerance approach to littering.

“Littering is a national problem but the likelihood of the act is greatly reduced when enforcement officers are present and this has been a key factor in the decline in fixed penalty notices issued.

“The council does not usually write separately to households to inform them of national laws, however, it regularly communicates environmental issues through its Love Where You Live campaign.

“This successful campaign sees officers encourage the public to report litter problems and to consider becoming community litter pickers.”

Environmental fines broken down by ward (18 in total – 15 for litter, 2 for dog fouling, 1 for an abandoned vehicle)

St Mary’s – 12

Romsey wards – 2

Winton – 1

Alamein – 1

Amport – 1

Stockbridge – 1

All other wards – 0