FLYTIPPERS who blight Oxford’s largest estate have been warned they face fines as part of a crackdown on mess.

Street wardens, Police Community Support Officers (Pcsos) and police officers are patrolling roads and alleyways in Blackbird Leys every day until the end of March.

They are armed with fixed penalty notices to hand to people they spot failing to clean up dog mess or litter, or who they catch dumping waste illegally.

They are keeping watch for flytippers in known troublespots in Balfour Road and Knight’s Road in particular, although no road or alleyway will escape their patrols.

The four-week enforcement crackdown, which began at the start of March, is part of a city-wide clean-up campaign by the city council.

The Cleaner, Greener Oxford campaign is backed by the Oxford Mail.

People who drop litter will be told to hand over £80, while the penalty for dog fouling is £50.

Anyone caught flytipping could face a £50,000 fine and up to six months in jail.

Last month, the Oxford Mail revealed the city council planned to catch flytippers across the city using a mobile CCTV unit.

Blackbird Leys is the first of Oxford’s estates to be targeted in the scheme after the city centre was tidied up.

Cowley Road is next in line to be spruced up in April.

So far, no fines have been handed out in Blackbird Leys, but Graham Eagle, the city council’s public health team leader, is confident many will be issued before the end of March.

He said: “It reinforces what we are doing. It’s the same as any enforcement, people know not to speed but until you get caught you try and push your luck.”

Mr Eagle said that on the whole, Blackbird Leys did not have a problem with litter, but some people tended to dump rubbish where they were not supposed to.

He pointed to Ambassador Avenue, in the Oxford Retail Park, Balfour Road, and a green area at the end of Knight’s Road where the problem was noticeable. Mr Eagle said: “It’s a different problem in different areas. Generally it’s pretty good, there’s a few flytipping hotspots but I don’t think it’s any bigger problem in Blackbird Leys than anywhere else.”

A dog warden who inspected Cuddesdon Park found 14 piles of faeces in a 20 by 10 yard area.

Mr Eagle added: “We will measure it again at the end of March and see if it’s improved.

“Some people just pay the fines and think ‘fair cop’ but some say they are not going to pay. We always explain why it’s a crime.”