Tougher new laws are needed to tackle slobs who throw rubbish from their car windows.

New powers to help local authorities take action against motorists who throw litter out of vehicles, have been put on hold after an error in the drafting of legislation. At present if rubbish is thrown from a vehicle the prosecutor has to be sure who in the vehicle actually threw the litter out, which is not always easy to prove. The new legislation was supposed to make the registered keeper of the vehicle responsible, which would mean, that unless they said who was at fault (like speeding fines etc) they would be fined.

Councils in London were to receive these new powers to use evidence collected by closed circuit television and footage by traffic wardens. This would then if workable, been rolled out across the country.

Councils like Croydon strive to keep places clean and tidy and this would have been a useful tool in stopping this environmental vandalism. As a councillor, I often get told the council doesn't do enough to keep the streets clean. Every street is cleaned at least once every 4 weeks, which is an improvement from 3 years ago. Also areas that have shops, like Addiscombe High Street are cleaned daily, on a regular basis. The point I always like to make is, that it is not the council who drops the litter, so if everyone was a little more responsible, maybe there wouldn't be as much rubbish to collect off our streets, which would mean less cleaning and less cost.

Some good news following many requests, is that new bins have been put back on our streets. These have made a difference, as some people know how to use them.