Shoppers who use Battersea Square are being warned they face fines of up to £2,5000 if caught littering. Bosses at Wandsworth Council say they will soon be conducting a special operation to tackle people who throw litter on the street in and around the Square.
Anyone caught caught dropping any type of litter, including cigarette butts and chewing gum, will be given on-the-spot fines by the council’s street care team for breaking environmental protection laws.
The date of the crackdown is being kept confidential, but is scheduled for later this month and further crackdowns are being promised “in the coming days and weeks.”
Those given fines have ten days to pay a £55 penalty. If they miss that deadline, the fine increases to £80 and if still unpaid after 28 days, they will be summonsed to court, where they could be fined anything up to £2,500.
Environment spokesman Cllr Malcolm Grimston said: “The simple message is that people need to put their rubbish in litter bins. There are plenty of these across the borough so people have no excuse to drop their rubbish on the pavement.”
