Litterers will face hefty on-the-spot fines from today as Kingston Council cracks down on people who drop their rubbish.

People spotted dropping litter, including cigarette butts, will face a fine of £80 issued by environmental enforcement officers.

From Thursday, July 2, dog owners who do not clean up after their pets will also face fines of £100.

The move comes after claims from the council that cleaning up litter and dog waste costs the authority £2m a year to clean up.

However only certain people in the borough will benefit from this initial pilot scheme with enforcement officers patrolling streets, parks and housing estates in North Kingston, Kingston town centre and Surbiton.

If successful the scheme will rollout throughout the borough in 2016.

Councillor David Cunningham, lead member for environment and transport, said: “It costs £2 million a year to clean up litter and dog fouling in our borough, money that could be better spent protecting our frontline services.

“The All in One borough survey showed that while nine in ten people think that street cleaning is important, only half are satisfied with the cleanliness of the borough.

“We know the vast majority of our residents do the right thing, however to those who don’t our message is very clear - if you litter or let your dog foul in our borough, we will expect you to help pay the costs of clearing it up.”