CCTV will catch drivers who drop litter from cars

Updated
CCTV will catch drivers who drop litter from cars
CCTV will catch drivers who drop litter from cars

PA


Drivers who throw litter from their cars now face an £80 fine, as CCTV and new legal powers make it easier for authorities to prosecute the culprits.

To date, many litter louts have escaped prosecution thanks to a legal loophole which means that police or council wardens have to identify the person who dropped the rubbish, not just the owner of the car.

But the new clampdown means that officers can take pictures of offenders and use CCTV. The burden of proof will also shift, so that the registered owner of the car will have to provide evidence that they were not driving at the time if they are to escape the fixed-penalthy fine.

Campaigner Peter Silverman who set up the website www.cleanhighways.co.uk after being disgusted by the amount of rubbish along the M40 in the Thames Valley, welcomed the move.

He said: It is very difficult for local authorities to fine the perpetrators of littering from vehicles as they are obliged to identify the individual responsible. It will be so much easier if they just have to record the registration number."

It currently costs around £850 million a year to clean up roadside litter.

Related articles:

Lynx girls set a new record as they 'clean up' Bournemouth beach

Blackpool Tower reopens after multi-million revamp

Advertisement