Councillors have agreed to introduce fines of up to £80 against people who drop litter.

The decision by Thorpe St Andrew Town Council last night comes it received after multiple complaints about the amount of smashed glass and dog fouling.

Members of staff will now be able to issue Fixed Penalty Notices of up to £80 to people caught littering in the town. This would be reduced to £60 if paid within 10 days.

But town clerk Thomas Foreman stressed that the fines would only be used as last resort, instead more emphasis would be used to educate people.

Councillors were told that if someone refused to give their details after they were caught littering, staff would be able to call the police.

Town mayor Ian Mackie said: 'We are doing this to maintain our parks for some of our younger users and sports users. It is about keeping our parks clean and 99pc of people will respect that.'