Litter louts to be stung with £100 penalties

FINES for dropping litter, fly-posting and similar offences will be increased in Solihull from today (Monday).

The council last week agreed to increase the maximum penalty imposed for a range of environmental crimes.

Under the new regime, people will have to cough up £100 (reduced to £75 if they pay within seven days).

New powers have also been adopted which should make it easier to go after those who throw rubbish out of vehicles - a problem which leaves verges and kerbs strewn with rubbish.

Changes in the law earlier this year mean that councils can fine the vehicle's "registered keeper" without having to prove that it's actually that person who chucked the rubbish out of the window.

This means that from now on drivers are effectively responsible for making sure their passenger doesn't toss drinks cans, sweet wrappers or even cigarette ends onto the roadside.

Councillor Alison Rolf, cabinet member for stronger communities and partnerships, said the council wanted to send a clear message the behaviour "was unacceptable from anybody" and could end up being very costly.

"It's about having the ability to fix a fine on people for doing it. And it's about making sure when we can do it, we do do it.

"For the ones who don't want to be educated we will issue penalties."

Coun Mark Wilson (Green, Smith's Wood) said he was amazed by the range of items which were discovered during litter picks around his ward - from burned-out vehicles and builder's rubble to electronic goods.

"I was shocked at the amount and also the type of things were there. I've found flytipped walkman's and batteries.

"I thought if these are leaking then that's pretty serious. People were looking and asking 'what's this doing here?' "

He had asked about the options for introducing public space protection orders (PSPOs) in parts of North Solihull experiencing particular problems.

Caroline Naven, the council's head of neighbourhood and regulatory services, suggested these powers were less than effective.

"I call them the toothless tiger," she said. "They're expensive to implement and you need officers to actually enforce the order and there aren't the officers to enforce it."

The increase in fines follows a number of initiatives to tackle environmental crime. The local authority has already agreed to contract a private company to issue fines to the culprits, while a set of portable cameras is being used at fly-tipping hot spots.