A new breed of enforcement officers are set to take to the streets of Bolton to catch and fine those who drop litter.

Wearing a uniform, armed with a bodycam and hand held device, the officers will similar in style to car parking wardens, but rather than catching motorists breaking parking rules, they will be after those who throw rubbish on the streets.

The Bolton News exclusively reported that the Town Hall bosses were looking at bringing in the scheme which is run in other authorities.

And now a six month trial has been given the green light

The authority is to partner with environmental enforcement firm 3GS after the scheme was confirmed by deputy leader Hilary Fairclough this week.

Traditionally, the council issued the fines for littering with its own environmental enforcement unit. 

Recently, the authority increased these fines for littering to £150 or £100 if paid within a short time.

But a report revealed its own environmental enforcement unit is short on essential resources and external resources are needed to crack down on litter, which Cllr Fairclough described as a 'blight' on the community.

She expressed a desire for the six-month trial, after which there is to be a review, to create a 'cleaner, greener' environment.

READ MORE: Bolton to see biggest change to police 'in a generation'.

Cllr Fairclough said: "Environmental crime blights our community and costs the taxpayer thousands of pounds every year.

"The majority of residents take responsibility for their litter but there is a minority who can’t be bothered to take their litter home with them or find a bin.

"I hope this reinforces the message littering and dog fouling will not be tolerated and those responsible will be held to account.

"The partnership will improve the cleanliness of our streets and will reinforce our commitment to a cleaner, greener Bolton."

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3GS works in teams consisting of a team leader, a senior enforcement officer and three enforcement officers, who are in uniform and armed with bodycams and handheld devices in a similar style to traffic wardens.

It is set to take 80 per cent of the fines, while the council is set to take the rest of the fines. 

There is no cost to the authority and therefore to the taxpayer, with the income from the scheme estimated at £8,000 a month.

3GS works with number of other authorities including in Bristol and Leeds. It issued more than 30,000 fines in the last year.

This article was written by Jack Tooth. To contact him, email jack.tooth@newsquest.co.uk or follow @JTRTooth on Twitter.