ARMS sternly folded behind his back and with a purposeful stride the new portfolio holder for Wisbech has, in his sights, a group of youngsters suspected of littering Wisbech Park.

Councillor David Oliver, together with local council officials, had watched the mess accumulate at the very moment as Fenland District Council was collecting an honour for keeping the park neat and tidy.

Cllr Oliver was among those on hand to collect the award on Monday from the Green Flag Plus Partnership that includes Keep Britain Tidy campaign.

But he was dismayed to see coke cans and crisp packets littering the park and decided to approach the group to offer them a gentle ticking off.

Tougher sanctions could be available in the future, as a council spokesman explained later.

“The situation is that as part of the ongoing ‘Tidy Fenland’ campaign that we’re running, we do plan to have some targeted enforcement days,” said the spokesman.

They would be held in conjunction with town councils “and those will involve the use of Fixed Penalty notices.”

But the spokesman warned not to expect draconian interventions any time soon.

“Issuing those fines is not currently the main focus of the campaign,” he added.