FIXED PEENALTY; 9500 Scots fined for piddling in public.

Byline: Magnus Gardham

ALMOST 9500 Scots were fined last year for using public places as toilets.

And an angry MSP said the public would be "astonished" by the scale of the problem.

Tory Margaret Mitchell, who got the figures in a Parliamentary answer, said: "It is disturbing that almost 9500 Fixed Penalty Notices were handed down for urinating or defecating in a public place.

"Worse still, these statistics are almost certainly an underestimate, as they record only those caught."

Police used pounds 40 on-the-spot fines - rising to pounds 60 if unpaid after 28 days -to deal with the public piddlers. But figures releasedbycommunitysafety minister Fergus Ewing also revealed that fixed penalties were handed out for more serious offences including riotous behaviourinapub,vandalism, and being drunk in public while in charge of a child.

And Mitchell said she was "appalled" that the offenders had not faced stiffer action.

She said: "Anyone who exhibits this behaviour should be receiving a more severe punishment than the equivalent of a minor parking offence.

"Reducing pressure on our police and justice system is a laudable aim, but it cannot be done for the convenience of the criminal or to massage crime statistics."

Mitchell said it was "alarming" that SNP ministers could add more offences "at any time" to the list where on-thespot penalties are used. She added: "If these perpetrators are not worried about the consequences, they will not worry about their actions.

"We need to send out a much stronger message to discourage this behaviour." A Scottish Government spokesman defended the use of on-the-spot fines.

He said: "The increased use of fixed penalty notices for low-level offences is freeing up police officers' time - time they can spend tackling crime in our communities rather than form-filling.

"Crime is at its lowest level for nearly 30 years."

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SHOCKED: Mitchell