The controversial ‘private litter army’ patrolling Bath and North East Somerset is to be binned by the Council.

Conservative Council bosses at the time signed a twelve-month, no-cost contract last year with 3GS to clean up the streets by handing out fines for littering, dog fouling and fly-tipping.

But the Liberal Democrats, who now control the authority, have long voiced doubts about the deal and have confirmed they have ousted the firm.

Enforcement is being taken back in-house, funded by an additional £140,000 in this year’s budget.

Neighbourhood Services joint cabinet member, councillor David Wood, said: “We were always sceptical about privatised litter enforcement and we thought this was the wrong decision for B&NES, so will not be renewing our contract with 3GS.

“Residents have told us they still want to see fines issued, with a common sense approach for littering. We plan to expand this by bringing this enforcement function and enforcement officers in house.

“Officers will be managed and paid by the Council, working on residents’ priorities. This also means action on litter across the whole of B&NES and enabling us to allocate more of our own resources to dealing with fly-tipping and waste presentation issues.”

Freedom of information requests revealed 3GS handed out more than 1,800 fines in the first ten months of the contract, worth more than £200,000. The vast majority of the fines were issued within the centre of Bath. More than 96 per cent of them were for dropping cigarette butts, with only two fines issued for fly-tipping. Not a single person was fined by 3GS for failing to pick up after their dog between March 8th and December 31st last year, the information request revealed.

The most controversial case was when Sally-Ann Fricker was handed a £150 charge for feeding part of a sausage roll to pigeons in Bath. A video of the incident was viewed tens of thousands of times on social media, attracting widespread criticism. 3GS said at the time it stood by the decision to fine the Grandmother.

A spokesperson for 3GS said: “The authority has decided to in-house the service, which is, of course, their prerogative. We will continue to support the authority by providing a range of back office services.”

Council Officers will be able to hand out a £150 fine for dropping litter, including cigarette ends, and rubbish thrown from vehicles. Fly-tippers can be issued with a penalty of up to £400.

The 3GS contract has been extended until April 1st. Former Conservative Councillor, Bob Goodman, was the strongest advocate for bringing in the firm. He said it was “heavy handed” in a handful of cases, but was “generally successful,” and the Lib Dems had conceded the city was looking cleaner. He added: “The 3GS contract was at zero cost. I do not know how much taking this back in-house will cost. Will it give the same degree of cover? I doubt it.

“Bristol City Council have just engaged 3GS for a longer term contract. They must have confidence in that organisation. I suspect this administration, and the cabinet member responsible, had a knee-jerk reaction to one of the issues.”