Litter louts face whopping £500 fine in UK seaside resort under strict new crackdown

A POPULAR UK beach is set to increase littering fines after “embarrassing” messes left by visitors this summer. Councillors have unanimously backed plans to hike the penalty for leaving rubbish at the tourist hot spot to £500. Norfolk beach goers could soon be hit with bigger fines for littering Credit: Alamy Tourists left “embarrassing” amounts of waste on the beach this summer Credit: Alamy Cromer in Norfolk attracts thousands of beach goers every year, but after hordes of tourists left litter on the sand this summer, authorities are set to enforce bigger fines. North Norfolk District Council currently issue a maximum of £80 when it comes to fixed penalty notices for littering. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! But with an increase of messy holidaymakers leaving locals “frustrated” and “embarrassed”, the council has shared plans to increase the on-the-spot fine maximum to £500. Meanwhile, the maximum fine for fly-tipping looks set to rise from £300 to £1,000. Earlier this year, councillors urged visitors to “please just take your rubbish home”, after piles of rubbish, including nappies and glass bottles, were left on the beach. Councillor Callum Ringer told the BBC he hopes that the risk of a heftier fine will make people “think twice” before dropping litter. Councillor Ringer explained that if littering is seen by a council enforcement officer, people will be asked to pick it up before a fine is issued. “If we get footage of people littering we have the ability to issue the fixed penalty notice,” he added. Most read in The Sun “If the level of offending warrants more than our fixed penalty notice, the courts can impose a higher court fine, even jail term in theory.” Ringer continued: “Anybody who is thinking about this needs to really think twice. Fines are only one part of this, we need some solid enforcement but also some really good comms. “You’ve either got ignorance or arrogance and if we can get rid of the ignorance side then the fines can do their bit with the arrogance and then we’ll be in a better situation.” Meanwhile, a North Norfolk District Council spokesperson shared a statement regarding the proposed fine increases. “Increasing the fixed penalty notices to the statutory maximums would send out a strong message on littering and fly tipping, and act as a deterrent to environmental waste crime in North Norfolk,” the representative told the Daily Mail. “‘The proposed increases are proportionate and will play an important part in the wider campaign to raise awareness about the damage caused by littering. “North Norfolk District Council shared an update on social media in May after Cromer beach was left a mess, and asked people to ‘dispose of waste responsibly’.” The statement continued: “Following the bank holiday weekend, additional cleaning crews were called to Cromer today to clear up a significant volume of litter left behind on the beach.” Comment now