PEOPLE caught littering in a North-East town will now face a £130 fixed penalty fine.

Anyone spotted littering in Stockton will now have to pay the fine from today, although it will be reduced to £90 if it is paid within seven days

Councillors agreed to set the increased fine at a meeting of Stockton Borough Council’s cabinet on Thursday.

Figures revealed the cost of cleaning the UK’s streets and countryside costs the taxpayer almost £800million a year.

Councillor Steve Nelson, Stockton Borough Council’s cabinet member for access, communities and community Safety, said: “Each year we spend a lot of time and money picking up litter from our streets.

“These changes come after a national survey found that 85 per cent of people are in favour of increased fines.

“We hope it will act as a clear deterrent to the minority of people responsible to dispose of their litter properly.

“The increase is not about making money, and for us, success would be that we didn’t have to issue any fines in the years ahead.”

In future, councils will also be able to impose these fines on the owners of vehicles from which litter is thrown, even if it was discarded by someone else.