LITTER louts, vandals, flytippers and irresponsible dog owners are escaping punishment in Oxford, new figures have revealed.

Statistics for last year show just three fines were served for littering - but no-one was brought to book for graffiti, flytipping or dog-fouling.

Oxford City Council handed out ten fixed penalty notices of £75 each to litter droppers in September during a high-profile month-long campaign against chewing gum.

But no other fines for nuisances offences like dog fouling have been handed out this year.

The figures for 2006/07, published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, show that of the three fines for littering, one was cancelled and one was not paid.

Cherwell District Council dished out two penalty notices for littering and one for dog fouling in the same period - but none for graffiti or flytipping.

South Oxfordshire and West Oxfordshire districts did not give out any fines, while the Vale of White Horse was unable to provide figures.

Oxfordshire councils' failure to use their powers bucked the national trend.

Nationally, local authorities last year issued more fixed penalty notices for littering than ever before - and more people were paying up for their offences.

Over all the total number of fines issued for nuisance offences in England - including graffiti, flytipping and dog fouling - rose by 42 per cent from 38,062 in 2005/6 to 54,015 in 2006/07.

Ian Clayton, deputy chief executive of Keep Britain Tidy, said: "Our research has shown that the threat of a fine will encourage people not to litter, but people need to believe they are going to get caught.

"Fining is a crucial tool in achieving clean streets especially when coupled with campaigning and education."

Paul Frisby, of Trevor Place, Cowley, has long campaigned for tougher action against litterbugs in Oxford.

He said: "It really does sum the city council up.

"I am very despondent about them. It makes them seem very apathetic about the whole thing.

"It's very important to keep the place tidy. As soon as I come back to Oxfordshire I can see rubbish everywhere, particularly in Cowley."

When asked whether September's anti-litter campaign was a one-off, a city council spokesman said: "In many cases the threat of issuing a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) has proved a successful way of encouraging people to be more responsible.

"It is difficult to catch people in the act of environmental crime and we use FPNs as a last resort as they don't necessarily solve the problem.

"It is important to use education alongside enforcement to really make a difference in improving the environment in which we live."