A COUNCIL has become the first in the region to launch fixed penalty fines for children as young as ten who drop litter.

Easington District Council has agreed the £50 fines as a last-ditch attempt to cut the amount of litter dropped in the area.

The authority says that the litter includes sweet wrappers, chip wrappers and pop bottles dropped by schoolchildren - who, until now, it has been powerless to punish.

It will also issue £50 fixed penalty fines to errant dog owners who fail to clean up after their pets.

However, some parents say that the initiative simply means they will have to pay their children's fines, which many can ill-afford. They say they are unable to watch them 24 hours a day.

Ian Harrison, of the council's environment department, said the problem of litter was widespread. "On-the-spot fines for adults has gone some way to cleaning up the streets but it has gone on one step further.

"The fixed penalty is a last resort. We are trying to educate youngsters through the schools not to do it," he said.