Litter louts in a Kent district blighted by rubbish could soon face fines of up to £200.

Canterbury City Council will tomorrow consider imposing the second-highest penalties in the county to crack down on the issue.

It comes after Maidstone hiked litter fines to £500 – whereas in other districts, penalties are as low as £75.

In Canterbury, fines for littering look set to rise from £150 to £200 and from £400 to £1,000 for fly-tipping.

Some say the increase is too high and more signage warning against discarding rubbish improperly should be erected, while others argue it’s a necessary deterrent.

Most local authorities across Kent and Medway issue fines of between £100 and £150 for littering, but in Ashford and Dartford, litterbugs face a fixed penalty notice of £75.

In July, the government introduced new legislation which increased the maximum litter fine from £150 to £500, while hiking fly-tipping penalties from £400 to £1,000.

Several months later, bosses at Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) took advantage of the new rules, opting for the maximum fines in certain situations.

The lowest fine for littering is now £200 in the district, while a repeat offender or someone caught discarding items in a rural area could find themselves charged the full £500.

At the time, Cllr Patrik Garten, cabinet member for environmental services at the authority, said the council’s waste crime team was doing all it could to reduce the impact of fly-tipping and littering, and would do so through enforcement action and fixed penalty notices when needed.

While fining is seen as an effective deterrent, there are other ways to address the rubbish problem, argues Canterbury river warden Sian Pettman.

Ms Pettman is in favour of higher fines for fly-tipping, but believes the penalties for littering in the Canterbury district should remain at their current levels.

“Both litter and fly-tipping make a place look run down and neglected, and can cause serious environmental problems,” said Ms Pettman.

“I approve of the increase in the fine for fly-tipping to £1,000 as the cost of dealing with the problems that fly-tipping cause are so huge, and most people indulging in fly-tipping are fully aware that what they are doing is a criminal offence.

“But, I think the fine for littering should be kept at £100 as most people simply aren’t aware that they might be fined for littering.

The litter-picker and community organiser stressed that a “comprehensive and joined-up strategy” is needed to best address littering and fly-tipping.

Ms Pettman highlighted the need for eye-catching signage in problem areas about the illegality and potential repercussions of littering, as well as more and better quality bins.

“And any money raised from the fines should be ear-marked specifically to financing a comprehensive strategy to tackle the problems,” she added.

A CCC spokesman confirmed that the fines already help to pay for investigating and removing fly-tipping.

If CCC’s cabinet approves the proposals, the fines will increase across the city, Herne Bay and Whitstable on January 1 next year.

Cllr Dan Watkins told KentOnline how litter can affect the tourism economy in Canterbury and says he thinks that more “tough love” through financial penalties would be a good step.

“Litter is a terrible scourge, it pollutes the environment and looks ugly which is bad for residents and visitors.

“We are a tourist district and having litter in our parks and waterways looks bad and it’s also bad for wildlife of course, as they can get trapped in litter and it can be fatal.

“I am supportive of educating children in school about how important it is not to litter, but I think when it comes to adults, some people will only respond to tough love which is a fine and I think that it is proportionate to put them up by £50.”

Asked what would be accomplished by a £150 fine that isn’t already accomplished by a £100 fine, he added: “If the fine is that much higher it will be more of a shock so when someone who’s been fined £150 or £200 before thinks of going back to their old ways and casually tossing a drinks bottle into the river they’ll think actually no that really hurt last time and I’m not going to do it again.

“I don’t like having to penalise people but I also don’t like seeing litter.”