Helston's town warden has appealed to all residents to make the town a cleaner and safer place to live.

Glenn Manning, who was appointed town warden last month, said he was keen to organise "clean-ups" in all areas of the town and was looking for volunteers to assist in the planning and organisation of these events.

Mr Manning said: "I want to make these events as much fun and obviously successful as possible, and will be looking for people's own ideas on what they would like to do to help. The planning of events does not happen overnight, as risk assessments have to be carried out, and specialised equipment sourced. I am also looking to organise other community events such as dog walk/ramble litter-picks around the area to promote the natural beauty of the environment we live in."

He encouraged anyone who would like to get involved in such events to get in touch with him.

Mr Manning continued that he now had a new "assistant" to help him in his daily work - called Buster. Buster is a three-month-old Jack Russell terrier dog who is set to taking part in socialisation classes over the next few weeks.

"Whilst on the subject of dogs, may I please appeal to all owners of dogs to be responsible, by picking up their dog's litter when out walking in public spaces, and disposing of it in the correct manner. If people double bag it, it can be placed in a normal litter bin. As I have been walking around the town, I have noticed that a lot of bags containing dog litter are being left on grass verges and in bushes. There are a number of dog litter bins provided for people to put these bags in - there are no excuses for littering the ground, if a bin is not in close proximity," he added.

At the end of this month Mr Manning is due to attend a course that will allow him to issue fixed penalty notices for any anti-social behaviour involving littering, dog fouling, graffiti, fly-tipping and fly-posting.

"This will be a positive move toward being able to act in circumstances of habitual offending, and raise awareness of the responsible disposal of litter etc," he said, adding that the maximum fine for littering, graffiti, fly-tipping and fly-posting was a £100 fixed penalty notice, with a fine of up to £2,500 in the eventuality of a successful prosecution.

For dog fouling, the maximum fixed penalty is £75, with a fine of up to £1,000 as the result of a successful prosecution.

Fixed penalty notices can be issued to children between the ages of ten and 17, as well as adults. There are also other fixed penalty notices and prosecutions relating to businesses and private land owners/authorities for failure to comply with the Act.

Mr Manning warned that some non-recyclable household waste was being placed in the blue recycling bins.

"The contractors will not take this away, and it is ending up on the grass verges. Please also consider the weather conditions when placing the bins out for collection," he added.

Items that will be collected are paper, plastic milk bottles (no other plastic bottles), aluminium foil and textiles if bagged separately, unbroken glass bottles and jars, cardboard and cans.

He also warned peopled not to drop cigarette butts, as the filters are not biodegradable and the butts themselves take 12 years to biodegrade. They also account for between 70 per cent and 90 per cent of litter in towns.

Mr Manning can be contacted via the town clerk on 01326 572063 or emailed at townwarden@helstontc.com.