HUNDREDS of litter bugs blighting Ealing's streets are not paying their fines, Government figures reveal.

Of the 904 Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) that were issued to litter louts in the borough last year, only 182 were actually paid.

Moreover, Ealing did not pursue any legal action against the people who failed to pay them.

This has prompted Darren Johnson, Green Party member of the London Assembly, to accuse Ealing Council of not taking its litter problem seriously.

He said: "The FPNs were introduced to help clean up London's streets. If they the fines are not seen through they cannot possibly have this effect."

"Fast food litter has increased by 450 per cent over the last four years, so we have to work together to keep London clean. Too many people are simply getting away with it."

Ealing's figures are in contrast to that of other London Borough's, such as the Royal London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, which received payment for 338 of the 345 FPNs it issued.

But Susan Parsonage, Ealing Council's head of enviro-crime prevention, pledged that from now on the council will do more to tackle the problem.

She said: "Tackling enviro-crime is our utmost priority and the council will pump more money into tackling this issue in the new financial year, which begins in April.

"We know we must do more to ensure litter bugs are punished for blighting our borough.

"We have received intensive in-depth training from the Environment Agency and this will help us shake up our procedures and practices to improve our collection rates.

"We are confident this review will have an impact and mean litter louts don't get away with it."