A controversial litter scheme in Bexley has had its pilot extended for another year, meaning litter police will be operating in the borough until at least June.

Kingdom Environmental officers faced backlash from the public after a BBC Panorama investigation uncovered a bonus-like scheme for officers who hand out more fines to the public.

The programme also featured officers employing ‘scare tactics’ on the public such as pretending to phone the police.

Bexley Council defended the performance of Kingdom and confirmed the service would be operating for another year.

A spokesman for Bexley Council said: “The pilot litter and dog fouling enforcement service has been extended until the end of June 2018 pending a future procurement exercise to appoint a permanent service provider.

“The Council is pleased with the overall performance of the pilot service provided by Kingdom. This service has helped reduce street cleaning complaints and litter levels across the borough.”

The council added that in the last few months over 128 successful prosecutions have been completed, resulting in around £45,000 in fines and costs against littering offenders.

The council confirmed that Kingdom officers wear body cameras that assist in every case.

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However not everybody is as impressed with Kingdom, with one local business owner questioning how much impact they have had in the borough.

Nigel Barrett, of Nigel Barrett photography in the Broadway, said: "I have had a shop in Bexleyheath for the last 31 years.

"At first I thought litter wardens would be good for Bexley and thought it would result in cleaner streets and a better environment.

"But unfortunately they have had a lot of very bad publicity including Bexley including being featured on BBC's Panorama. 94 per cent of the fines they give are for cigarette butts. For this reason they are known to some as the Butt Police.

"Now my opinion is that they have made no difference to the litter problem and I think we are better off without them."

Labour Councillor Sean Newman questioned the council last month on how the cabinet can ensure litter wardens target all types of litter.

Statistics from March show that 94.4 per cent of fines distributed in Bexley were for cigarettes, compared to dog fouling which makes up just 0.31 per cent – the equivalent of seven fines.

Speaking at the time, Councillor Peter Craske, cabinet member for environmental safety, environment and leisure, said: “We have a zero tolerance policy on litter and fly-tipping. You can’t really have a zero tolerance policy if you exempt lots of things. Then you have an ‘everything goes’ policy.”

Kingdom said in a statement following the Panorama broadcast: "Our checks and balances can be scrutinised by our clients who have direct access to our management system underpinning the service including all the camera footage of every interaction with an offender.

"We are proud of our service but are always honest enough to acknowledge where improvements can be made and quickly implement them."