A campaign by the Scunthorpe and Grimsby Telegraphs to name and shame criminals with outstanding court payments has resulted in an offender coming forward in less than 24 hours.

The sister papers have teamed up with local magistrates’ courts to publish the names, addresses, dates of birth and amounts owed by 20 criminals who are due to pay a total of more than £7,700.

And after just one day, the special hotline set up to deal with information had received 10 calls – and one fine dodger walked into court and paid his fine in full.

Scunthorpe Telegraph editor Jon Grubb said: “The offenders have been found guilty and should therefore pay what they owe.

“I am pleased that after the list was published on Monday, one of the offenders decided to do the right thing and pay their fine.”

The name and shame column will appear monthly in the papers, with readers being kept updated on how successful it is.

Currently, about £300,000 is being chased by enforcement officers at North Lincolnshire Magistrates’ Court, with a further £500,000 of outstanding fees owed to the court in Grimsby.

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