PRIVATE wardens have been drafted in by Hartlepool Borough Council to boost a drive to keep the town clean and tidy.

Two enforcement officers, both employed by Manchester-based Animal Wardens, will be working on weekends throughout the summer.

Their main role is to clamp down on dog owners who fail to clean up after their pets, but they will also be targeting people who drop litter. They have the power to issue £50 fixed penalty notices to offenders.

They have been given mountain bikes to allow them swift access to areas, such as promenades, which staff travelling in vans often struggle to reach.

The private wardens are complementing the work of the council's environmental action team which has a wide-ranging brief to clean up Hartlepool.

Environmental action manager Craig Thelwell said: "The council is continuing to work with the company following a successful pilot scheme earlier this year.

"This is a signal of our determination to keep the town clean and tidy, and to clamp down on people who deliberately undermine our efforts.

"We are not prepared to tolerate the thoughtless actions of a minority of people and we hope they will now think twice when out walking their dogs or disposing of their rubbish."

The private wardens will also be working with environmental action team staff to enforce the annual beach ban on dogs, which covers the beach at Seaton Carew from the coach park to near the Staincliffe Hotel, and the Block Sands and the Fish Sands on the Headland.

The ban began at the start of May and remains in force until the end of September.