"YOU are a habitual criminal, who accepts arrest as an occupational hazard and, presumably, accepts imprisonment in the same casual manner."

With those words ringing in his ears, legendary sitcom con Norman Stanley Fletcher settled in to five years at HM Prison Slade and proceeded to tickle our ribs until he went straight.

There are some people who follow Fletch's lead in real life. Sadly, as today's Front Page story reminds us, their scorn for the system outweighs their ability to make us laugh.

We're talking about the 200-plus criminals who can expect a knock on their doors some time during the coming week.

In the Worcestershire slice of West Mercia alone, they collectively owe £1.2m in unpaid fines.

To the vast majority of us who lead trouble-free, community-minded lives, it's a wind-up to know that so many speeders, wife-beaters, thugs, drunks and thieves are waving two fingers at society in such a "casual manner".

The time is long overdue when these people should be made to pay for their crimes, both morally and physically.

So news of the impending blitz is welcome, indeed.

Doubtless, some among the lower moral reaches of the West Mercia hitlist will remain unmoved by the prospect of a knock on the door.

With the power to obtain the unpaid money from benefits or earnings, however, the upper hand is firmly attached to the long arm of the law.

The clear message is this: Your number will soon be up. Then who'll be laughing?