Two weekly sister papers in Northern Ireland have joined forces with their local council to clamp down on littering across the region.

The Portadown Times and Lurgan Mail, owned by Johnston Press, are getting behind Craigavon Borough Council’s zero tolerance approach to littering by publishing regular feature articles as well as court reports on those hit with fixed penalty fines.

The council issued 720 fixed penalty fines for littering and dog fouling in 2012/13 and since April the authority has already handed out nearly 300 penalties to offenders.

Alistair Bushe, regional editor of Portadown Times and Lurgan Mail, said: “The Portadown Times and Lurgan Mail are delighted to join forces with Craigavon Borough Council in the fight against litter.

“Littering is a blight upon our borough and we are right behind the zero tolerance approach that is being taken by the council.”

Trevor Clydesdale, neighbourhood environmental manager at Craigavon Borough Council, added: “There is absolutely no excuse for littering in the Craigavon borough as we have one of the biggest networks of litter bins and dog bins across Northern Ireland.”