Could you fall foul of one of these shocking fines?

Drivers are set for £60 fines if their passengers drop rubbish, it has been revealed, in a shake-up of litter laws.

According to a secret document leaked to the Sunday Telegraph, the government is frustrated by the fact that it's often not possible to tell exactly who is dropping littler from a car.

It wants to give councils the power to fine the driver, unless the guilty passenger owns up.

But, if introduced, the new fine won't be the only one that could catch you unawares. Here are seven shocking fines that you could face: be on your guard.

Driving too slowly
This summer, a tractor driver was fined £485 for allowing a massive queue to build up behind him. He was charged with driving without reasonable consideration for other road users under a set of laws introduced in 2013.

Drivers who are holding up other people are expected to pull over at every third opportunity to allow other people to pass. The same legislation has been used to prosecute drivers for tailgating or splashing pedestrians by driving through puddles.

Tractor driver fined for causing half-mile tailback

Paying for rubbish clearance
You might think you're doing the right thing by paying somebody to clear away your bulky rubbish - but be careful. Last April, a woman who did just that was ordered to pay more than £500 in costs and fines after doing just that.

Unbeknownst to her, the van driver dumped the items by the side of the road - and when the council identified the owner, they held her responsible. Apparently she should have asked him for paperwork stating that the rubbish would be properly disposed of.

Woman who paid man to take rubbish away is fined for fly-tipping

Putting your feet up
Manicurist Trinh Cuong says he had no idea that there was anything wrong with putting his feet up on the seat opposite during a train journey in Cheshire. But rail companies are trying to stamp out the unhygienic practice, and Cuong was slapped with a £50 fine.

Under the same by-laws, rail passengers are banned from such activities as being drunk, getting on a train before other passengers have got off, or even singing.

Train passenger fined £50 for putting feet on seats

Feeding squirrels
Many people are aware that it's an offence to feed pigeons in certain places - but squirrels? However, when one-year-old Lacey Spearing threw some crumbs of cake to a squirrel in Sittingbourne, her mother Emma-Louise and grandmother Sandra were in for a surprise.

A local rubbish officer had seen the incident, and slapped them with a £60 fine for littering. The council said feeding the squirrels could encourage rats.

Grandmother fined after one-year-old feeds squirrel


Brushing a dog
And even a bit of dog hair can count as litter in some councils' eyes. Tracey Hayes of Romford was stunned to be issued with an on-the-spot fine after brushing her dog in the park in 2013.

The council insisted that the hair amounted to 'litter' and that the fine was justified.

Mother fined £50 for grooming dogs in a park

Failing to carry a plastic bag
Fed up with pooing pooches, Daventry Council is cracking down on dog owners who fail to clear up after their pets. Not only can you be fined for leaving the mess behind, you'll also be in for a £100 charge if you're caught without a bag - even if your pet hasn't actually done the deed.

Having run out of bags is no excuse, it says - people should just carry more spares.

Fines for dog owners who don't carry poo bags

Falling asleep at McDonald's
After buying a Happy Meal at a McDonalds in South Wales, John Colliver fell asleep - it was 5am, after all. But he slept for over an hour, putting him over the chain's 90-minute limit.

He was fined £100 - increased to £200 by court costs - and the fine was only waived after the Daily Mail intervened.

Pensioner fined £200 - after sleeping in McDonald's car park