A council leader has defended wardens after they were spotted targeting litter louts in Asda and McDonald's car parks.

Canterbury Tory boss Ben Fitter-Harding has hit back at critics of the officers, in the wake of the sightings at the privately owned sites off Sturry Road on Monday.

Angry city residents took to Facebook to question why the worker was not instead monitoring a council-owned hotspot, like Tankerton Slopes, near Whitstable.

But Cllr Fitter-Harding insists the litter police spend "only a small amount of time" on private plots, with the land owner's consent.

"At the end of the day, would we rather a person dropping litter gets a fine, or having to pay for the clean up with our taxes?" the city council leader said.

"I'd rather the person dropping the litter gets a fine."

Cllr Fitter-Harding says waste dropped on private land is often cleared by the businesses who "generally take responsibility" for the litter at their outlets.

But "a lot of it is relatively light and travels far", ending up on authority-owned verges, fences and bushes.

"Cleaning this up is expensive," he added.

"Dropping litter is an offence regardless of the location, and the best way to change habits is to enforce.

"Whether dropped carelessly or deliberately, someone who drops litter outside a fast food restaurant is just as likely to drop litter in a park or throw it out of their car window."

The authority's litter warden team is from firm National Enforcement Solutions (NES). Its workers have been patrolling Canterbury, Whitstable and Herne Bay since May.

They were brought in by the council in a bid to reduce the amount of litter strewn across hot-spot beaches during the summer months.

KentOnline revealed in September that NES had dished out almost a quarter of a million pounds in fines in just four months last year.

One in three of the fixed penalty notices were issued in the district’s most deprived ward, Northgate. Meanwhile, just a fifth of the fines were meted out in Herne Bay and Whitstable.

The findings sparked concerns the litter police were preying on "easy targets" - but Cllr Fitter-Harding argues they are an important part of the authority's enforcement team.

"These officers are paid for from the fines they receive, with the council also receiving a small income to help fund other enforcement activities, like problem parking outside schools and fly tipping," the Conservative reasoned.

"The council has a great enforcement team.

"These officers are a flexible extension of it that help free it up for more complicated work and provide great value to taxpayers."

NES receives 70% of all revenue it generates through the charges, with the remaining 30% going to the city council.

However, some locals are not convinced by Cllr Fitter-Harding's defence.

Resident Heidi Kemp wrote on social media: "Surely if it's private land which is cleaned and maintained by the shops there is no impact to the council so they shouldn't be able to fine people.

"Wouldn't they be better off patrolling Tankerton Slopes or the beaches?"

But others were more supportive of the worker and Cllr Fitter-Harding.

Social media user Rebecca Buttigieg stated: "Just don't drop litter - take it home or use a bin.

"If there is no litter, there are no fines."