Council films people who may drop litter

The 11-strong team, which has been given permission to discreetly film people they suspect may be poised to drop litter, has already been at the centre of a dispute over human rights.

The Hackney scheme - the first of its kind in the capital - will see the council's team of environmental enforcement officers patrolling the streets with instructions to film people dropping litter or allowing their dogs to foul.

The individual then faces a spot fine of up to £80. If they decline to pay, they could face prosecution and a fine of up to £2,500.

But residents have hit out at the officers, who have been spotted chasing suspected litter bugs across busy roads, sometimes through traffic, to catch them on camera.

In one incident, two enforcement officers burst into a café in Mare Street, Hackney, searching for a woman who had dropped a cigarette butt on the ground outside.

Fiona Fletcher Smith, Hackney's corporate director for neighbourhoods and regeneration, said the policy had been introduced because the council was taking a hard line on litter louts.

"The message is simple - bin it or cop it," she said. "We know it's a small minority of people who carelessly drop litter but it's something our residents are really fed up with."

A Hackney council spokeswoman said it was necessary to film people dropping litter to provide an accurate verbal and visual record, but the video would only be shown if the matter went to court.

Sabina Frediani, campaigns coordinator for civil rights group Liberty, condemned the move. "This is local government bureaucracy gone mad," she said. "Did anyone think about putting more bins in public places rather than sending council officials out playing James Bond?"

Dickie Felton, a spokesman for Keep Britain Tidy, said: "Any attempt to tackle the problem is positive. Enforcement is only one solution, but we believe that as a last resort enforcement can get the message across.

"This is an unusual move but as long as they are using the cameras in the proper and right way then it is a good thing."

Last year Hackney spent £9million cleaning up almost 11 tonnes of rubbish dropped on the borough's streets.