Frustrated MP pleased with litter crackdown

Fylde MP Mark Menzies has backed almost doubling fines for litter louts who mindlessly throw rubbish from their vehicles.
Fylde MP Mark MenziesFylde MP Mark Menzies
Fylde MP Mark Menzies

Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey has announced that maximum on-the-spot fines for dropping litter will almost double from April next year - from the current limit of £80 to £150 - to deter and punish the anti-social minority who continue to drop rubbish.

Cleaning up our streets and countryside currently costs the taxpayer almost £800m a year and in future, councils will also be able to impose these fines on the owners of vehicles from which litter is thrown, even if it was discarded by someone else.

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Ms Coffey said: “These new fines will make sure the perpetrators, not the local community, bear the cost of keeping our streets and roads clean.”

Mr Menzies said: “I’m not alone in being frustrated when I see a motorist dump rubbish out of the window of their car.

“That rubbish has a cost to the environment, and ultimately the taxpayer when it needs cleaning up.

“We must punish those who blight our communities with fines, not local residents with an increased cleaning bill.

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Fylde is full of beautiful towns and villages filled with community-minded residents who take great pride in helping us win Best Village and In Bloom awards.

“I don’t want them paying the price for someone else’s anti-social behaviour.”

The changes to fines follow a public consultation as part of the launch of England’s first ever Litter Strategy in April. More than 85 per cent of people were in favour of increased fixed penalties.

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