Motorists have been warned after a driver has been fined for dropping litter from his vehicle.

Under new legislation passed in April 2018, councils can now issue fixed penalty notices to the owner of vehicles if they are caught under civil proceedings at county court.

Anyone seen throwing litter out of a car, whether it be a driver or passenger, can now be fined under this new legislation.

The driver will be handed a fixed penalty ticket of £150 but is reduced to £50 if paid within 10 days.

A recent case saw Sedgemoor District Council receive evidence that a passenger in a vehicle being driven along Broadway in Bridgwater dropped litter from the vehicle.

After receiving information from DVLA, the driver was identified and issued a fixed penalty ticket of £150.

The driver failed to make the payment and Sedgemoor District Council issued a summons for recovery in the county court.

The car owner subsequently admitted the claim and has paid the fine.

Motorists who see litter dumped from a vehicle can report the incident to the council.

Anyone with dashcam footage of litter being dropped from a vehicle, as well as the offending vehicle's registration, can be accepted as evidence by county court officals.

A spokeswoman from Sedgemoor District Council said drivers were previously unable to be penalised by authorities as it was "impossible to prove who was at fault.

She added: "In a change to the law, if it can be proved that litter was thrown from a car, the car's owner will be deemed responsible, even if someone else discarded the rubbish.

"Drivers can now stop other car owners by passing dash cam footage of litter louts to the authorities.

"Councils are be able to use this as evidence of littering.

"They can then issue the offending car's owner with a fine."

https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerset-news/council-warning-driver-litter-why-3174497