LITTER louts face fines of up to £150 for dropping rubbish on Canvey and across Castle Point.

The highest fine has doubled, previously at £75, and the proposed increase was approved at the latest Castle Point Council cabinet meeting.

In April, the government allowed local authorities to increase fines and Castle Point took its first opportunity to do this.

It comes as a petition, signed by more than 300 people, was presented to the council urging it to hire private security to combat spiralling littering, dog fouling and fly tipping.

During Wednesday’s meeting, the council confirmed this is still being considered and has been passed to the policy and scrutiny committee to debate.

Ray Howard, councillor responsible for streets, waste, flood and water management, was pleased. He said: “There was a really positive conversation about this, and every councillor was on board regardless of party.

“We just cannot let this to continue and let Canvey and the borough of Castle Point become an untidy place to live.”

Currently, the council spends £500,000 a year on street cleaning.

The meeting happened on the same day that the Echo reported that “teething problems” with a new street cleansing regime has seen some bins go unemptied across the island.

This increased the amount of litter dumped, particularly in children’s play parks.