Dave Sandbrook, Cardiff council's chief enforcement officer out at work

Councils were given the right to impose �75 fines for people who drop litter or dog owners who refuse to pick up waste.

Cardiff council says 128 people have been fined the maximum of �75 for litter dropping, dog fouling and leaving rubbish out too early.

Swansea council reports dog-fouling cases have dropped.

Cardiff council first launched an enforcement and education campaign with Keep Cardiff Tidy 18 months ago.

Over the last year, 870 tonnes of litter was picked up from the city's streets, but this is 20% less than the previous year.

In an 18 month period, 1,657 people received the old �25 fines for dropping litter - with the Cathays area the worse in the city, accounting for nearly a third of all fines.

Since the fines were trebled, the numbers caught have dropped considerably.

Cardiff held a "Watch Your Butt" day to deter smokers from discarding cigarettes

The council has also run a ''Watch Your Butt" campaign, aimed at smokers.

One person has so far been caught for allegedly throwing a cigarette butt from a car window.

Elsewhere in Wales, Wrexham council has issued 76 fixed penalties since April - 45 for dog fouling and 31 for dropping litter.

Denbighshire council says it has issued 39 penalty notices for dropping litter and 20 for dog fouling in the same period.

Neither Newport or Swansea have issued any litter penalties since April.

On dog fouling, Swansea said it had only issued five �75 fines to owners since April - it issued 50 of the old �25 fines in the previous 12 months.

A council spokesman said: "This suggests to us that dog owners are getting the message and are behaving responsibly. This is good for them and good for the health and well-being of Swansea people and the environment."

Earlier this week, a Llanelli office worker became the first in Carmarthenshire to be fined �75 for dropping a cigarette butt.

Phil Sherratt, chief officer of Waste Management at Cardiff Council said: "These figures are very encouraging proof that our anti-litter strategy is working and are a testament to the work of this ground-breaking partnership."

Now Cardiff residents are being asked to complete a survey to discover streets which have particular litter problems.