City litter enforcers tonight slapped the first £100 fines on residents who have blighted Oxford's streets with rubbish - with the promise of more to follow.

Seven people living in three properties were hit with fixed penalties after ignoring repeated warnings about piling up bin bags of waste next to their wheelie bins, an offence called "side waste" littering.

Under new laws, wheelie bins have to be presented for collection securely closed with no additional bags left next to them.

The Oxford Mail was told some of those fined lived in Jericho and some were students, but the city council has refused to name the individuals or the streets in which they live.

Some were penalised for leaving their wheelie bin out in the street for days after it had been emptied, making pavements virtually impassable.

The fines - the first issued for littering since Oxford's "recycling revolution" began last November - were issued under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Failure to pay up could mean the Town Hall taking court action.

City council public health manager Ian Wright said: "Side waste is primarily the issue and that is leaving waste next to the wheelie bin.

"There have been some advice letters, warnings and legal notices that have been ignored so the final stage is issuing fixed penalties - as long as we are satisfied we have evidence to go to court if they fail to pay.

"We have information on who the occupiers are. We will go through side waste and pull out evidence to confirm there is a link, because there is the possibility someone could put their waste next to someone else's wheelie bin. It is quite likely we will end up issuing a few more fines."

Last Saturday, the Oxford Mail reported that a woman from the Cowley Road area had become the first to be fined £75 for "excessive bird feeding" after leaving loaves of bread near a children's play park off Manzil Way in east Oxford.

The bread was meant for pigeons, but was attracting plagues of rats.

City councillor Jean Fooks, executive member for a cleaner city and the woman in charge of implementing new waste collection arrangements, said: "There has been a small number of people who have ignored friendly letters and we have to show we mean business."

Annie Skinner, the co-founder of Oxford pressure group Collect Refuse in Oxford Weekly, said: "We have a transient population here in the city and many houses of multiple occupation. Tenants in these houses often lead separate lives and will generate more rubbish.

"Enforcement will not solve this problem."

Were you one of the seven fined for littering? Call our newsdesk on 01865 425445 or email nqonews@nqo.com