CRIMINALS who refuse to pay court fines face tough new measures to force them to cough up.

Dorset and Hampshire are two of the counties taking part in Operation Payback which aims to recover millions of pounds from fine defaulters across the country.

Police will join forces with court officials and those who refuse to pay their fines will be arrested.

Plans are also in the pipeline for offenders to have cash deducted from their wages or benefits and their details passed on to credit reference agencies, making it impossible to get personal loans, credit cards, mortgages or bank accounts. Their vehicles could also be clamped, irrespective of whether the fines were imposed for motoring offences.

Colin Webster, director of support services in Dorset, urged those with outstanding fines to pay them immediately or to contact the courts to explain their difficulties.

"Historically, Dorset has been quite successful in collecting fines but there is always room for improvement" he said.

"We are aware that there is a hard core of people who simply refuse to pay."

At the end of last year, £354 million of financial penalties were ouststanding in England and Wales.

Latest figures reveal that 45 per cent of fines are not collected on time and the government hopes Operation Payback will increase the figure to 75 per cent.

A national advertising campaign will encourage people to pay up before formal action is taken.