REDDITCH offenders who repeatedly refused to pay their court fines had an unexpected surprise on Friday when police and warrant officers came knocking.

Officers turned up on doorsteps and demanded the cash owed to the magistrates' court be paid or offenders would be taken back to court there and then.

Although a total of £2,576 was repaid by some of the fine defaulters, another 37 people had to be transported to court from their homes throughout the day to face magistrates again.

In total, those people dealt with on Friday owed the courts more than £50,000

Ultimately, a custodial sentence could have been imposed, though on Friday magistrates chose not to use their full powers.

West Mercia Court Service area legal manager Phillip Hines said: "Each case was treated individually.

"Although a spell in prison was the potential punishment, that didn't happen."

He added: "We do track down fine defaulters every day but Friday was what you might describe as a 'blitz'. Most days we just have one or two brought back to court to face the magistrates.

"As it is, it was a very successful day and we will be doing it again, so those in default should be wary."

Some of the fines have been outstanding for years, according to Mr Hines.

The exercise was part of a wider national scheme to reclaim millions of pounds in court debt.