Crackdown on roadside litterbugs

Drivers who dump rubbish out of their car windows are the latest target for a major crackdown.

Last year, seven wagonloads of rubbish - 3.2 tonnes - were collected from a four-mile stretch of the A1 near Morpeth, in Northumberland.

Castle Morpeth Borough Council has now teamed up with the DVLA.

It means officers who spot litterbugs can tap into the DVLA's database of registration plate details and issue a £50 fine to the vehicle's owner.

It is one of a series of measures the council is using to tackle the problem of rubbish being dumped.

Prosecution warning

It has bought movement-activated miniature CCTV cameras which are hidden at flytipping hotspots and beam back images to a control centre.

A team of 15 wardens carry hand-held computers equipped with GIS-positioning technology, cameras and e-mail facilities.

When they find an incident of vandalism or littering they can send an image back to base with the exact location and a rapid response team is sent out.

Executive member for the environment Councillor Doug Phillips said: "The message is quite simple: we have no time for people who despoil Castle Morpeth and will not hesitate to prosecute, so don't do it."