A CRACKDOWN on litter being thrown from cars could see motorists fined £150 as part of a tough new raft of measures being put forward to ‘Keep Bolton Tidy’.

Under new powers set to be approved today, the registered owner of the vehicle will be liable for the fine if litter is seen being dropped out from a moving or parked car ­- currently the local authority can only issue if the person responsible for littering is identified.

Bolton Council is also seeking to increase fines for dropping rubbish on the street from £80 to £150.

And the local authority wants to introduce a new fine of £400 for passing waste to illegal waste carriers.

This means if householders are found to have irresponsibly passed waste to someone to illegally dispose it, they would be fined £400 ­- currently the only action Town Hall chiefs can take is by prosecuting through the courts, which is costly.

The tough new measures have been unveiled just a week after The Bolton News launched its Keep Bolton Tidy Campaign.

Cllr Hilary Fairclough, environment cabinet member, said: “We need everyone to do their bit to keep our borough tidy. One of my biggest bugbears is people dropping litter – you only have to read The Bolton News to see how much it gets people’s backs up.

“Most Boltonians are law-abiding, responsible citizens and would never dream of dropping a crisp packet from a car window or dumping some rubbish on the street.

“But unfortunately there are some individuals who think it’s ok to do these things. Let me be clear - there are no circumstances under which it is acceptable to use the street or road as your personal dumping ground.

“Under these proposals, we would be able to issue tougher fines more easily to offenders, which is something to be welcomed.”

The council regularly receives complaints about people dropping litter from vehicles.

Subject to approval, the new powers to issue the new fines would come into effect in the coming weeks.

Cllr Adele Warren, environmental service delivery cabinet member, said: “One thing our teams have noticed during the pandemic is the sheer amount of rubbish being dumped on busy main roads by people using drive-thrus and takeaways.

“The threat of a fine will hopefully encourage people to be more considerate towards their environment. Not only is roadside litter an eyesore but picking it up on high speeds roads is dangerous and can require road closures.

“It’s quite simple – bin your rubbish or take it home.”

Cllr Fairclough urged people to be careful who they use to dispose of waste.

She said: “Flytipping under any circumstances is simply unacceptable.

“We know that rogue traders use social media to sell their services and target people. Often that rubbish is illegally flytipped and our teams have to clear it away at the expense of taxpayers.

“Introducing fines for people who use these types of businesses without carrying out checks, will hopefully make our residents think twice.

“This is about pride in our borough and taking pride in our surroundings.”