CEREDIGION County Council issued just one fixed penalty notice for environmental offences in nine years, figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show.

The news comes despite an increase of 555 per cent in the use of FPNs — used by council’s to fine people accused of offences including littering, fly-tipping and dog fouling — across Wales since 2007.

Between 2007 and 2016, Ceredigion County Council issued just one FPN — in the 2009/10 financial year — compared to 17,156 by Swansea City and Borough Council, and 68,640 across the whole of Wales, figures obtained by the Welsh Conservatives show.

The second-lowest FPN-issuing Welsh local authority is Monmouthshire County Council, which issued 11 fines over the same period.

The Welsh Conservatives’ shadow local government Minister, Janet Finch-Saunders AM, said the discrepancy was “alarming”.

She said: “The system is there to penalise those found to be in breach of the rules, but it is clear that something isn’t working because the number of fixed penalties is going up dramatically each year.

“The figures also reveal alarming inconsistencies across Wales, with some councils not issuing a single notice and others such as Swansea and Denbighshire doling out thousands.

The Cambrian News approached Ceredigion County Council for a comment, but no response was received at the time of publication.