Car owners could be fined up to £60 if litter is dropped from their car, even if the culprit is a passenger.
Ministers and green groups alike have been frustrated at how hard it is to punish drivers who let rubbish be dropped from car windows because it is too hard to identify the culprits.
The change will be announced in the Government's litter strategy, which represents the biggest shake-up for a generation and has been leaked to The Sunday Telegraph.
But proposals to grant new legal powers to English councils would leave car owners having to foot the bill automatically unless they can convince guilty passengers or other drivers to own up.
Councils will be able to set their own fines, but a popular model would see the charge rise to £200 if not paid within 28 days. The plans will also include increasing the standard fine for littering of £75 – possibly going up to £125, the Sunday Telegraph reported. According to the newspaper, the proposal says Britain “must act now to clean up the country and change our culture so that it is no longer acceptable to drop litter”.
