Portable spy cameras are being trialled in a Kent borough to catch louts fly-tipping or throwing rubbish from their vehicles in litter hotspots.

The new technology will enable Swale Borough Council to slap offenders with fixed penalty notices.

The cameras, which will be used to identify offences such as litter being launched from car windows or fly-tipping, can be moved around the borough to areas with a high number of incidences.

The Waste Watch CCTV technology catches the rubbish being dropped - or items being left - in real time and a £150 fine for littering or £400 notice for fly-tipping is sent to the registered address of the vehicle.

John Roberts, solutions director at Kingdom LA Support Ltd which delivers the littering contract, said: "We’re excited about the pilot to use Waste Watch CCTV to tackle litter and fly tipping in Swale.

“We hope to see the same excellent results from this technology that we’ve seen in other parts of Kent.

“In Dartford, a fly-tipping hotspot was almost eradicated after installing the new cameras."

Cllr Julian Saunders, cabinet member for the environment, said an average of £1.1 million is spent on clearing litter in Swale every year.

"Discarded cigarette butts are the biggest culprit for discarded litter, and items ranging from bags of household rubbish to large items of furniture are often fly-tipped instead of being taken to the household waste and recycling centre," he said.

He said the council will start the trial in Unity Street in Marine Town, Sheerness to tackle ongoing fly-tipping in residential alleyways.

A second location is being considered in Sheppey Way, Bobbing, where littering from vehicles is a long-standing problem.

Cllr Saunders added: "We have to install traffic lights to collect the litter that accumulates on Sheppey Way every month, which then impacts people who do the right things and take their rubbish home with them.

"It’s important for people who drop litter and fly tip to remember that while we’re making a start with one or two locations, the cameras can move around the borough and will catch repeat offenders.

“Previously our officers have had to rummage through fly tipped waste to find a clue about who had left it there, but with this new technology, we’ll know who they are and where they live within minutes."

Private enforcement firm Kingdom LA Support was taken on by Canterbury City Council

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