CHUCKING a crisp packet out of your car window could land you with a £150 fine from Sunday.

Councils are getting new powers to tackle litter louts who throw rubbish from their vehicles.


Under the new rules – which come into force on April 1 – the cap on littering fines will jump from £80 to £150.

Fines will be slapped on the owners of vehicles from whose windows rubbish is thrown.

Swindon Borough Council said it welcomed the new powers. 

Spokesman Kevin Burchall said: “They add another string to our bow in tackling this blight on our environment.

"We are already planning to increase the fines for general littering from £100 to £150 and this new fine will make the registered keeper of the vehicle responsible for any littering that occurs from their vehicle.”
The council plan to go after litter louts.

Mr Burchall said: “When we have the evidence we will track down the owner of the vehicle and those that drop litter should be aware that it is a criminal offence and you could receive a fine or a criminal record if it leads to a prosecution.
“We have in fact just removed litter and fly tipping from Great Western Way.

"This requires specialist equipment due to the danger posed to members of staff working on such a busy road, so the ability to fine drivers for littering from their cars will go some way to covering the additional cost of removing this waste.”
Announcing the new powers, environment minister Thérèse Coffey said: “Littering blights our communities.

"Throwing rubbish from a vehicle is just as unacceptable as dropping it in the street and we will tackle this antisocial behaviour by hitting litter louts in the pocket.”
The fines follow the government’s Litter Strategy, launched last year. In a consultation on the plans, 85 per cent were in favour of increasing fixed penalties for littering.
Campaigners have welcomed the moves.
Richard McIlwain, deputy chief executive of Keep Britain Tidy, said: “Our roads and motorways are heavily littered thanks to the actions of a few selfish motorists who think its ok to throw litter from their car. It costs millions to clean up and harms our native wildlife.”