PLANS for councils to fine people £100 for dumping rubbish in their own gardens have been welcomed in Worcester.

The move is part of a series of anti-yob laws announced by Home Secretary Theresa May, and is aimed at restoring pride in rundown estates.

The Community Protection Notice will be aimed at both homeowners and tenants, with district council officials in charge of the scheme.

Councillor Roger Berry, the Mayor of Worcester, said: “We would very much welcome this, especially in parts of Gorse Hill (Tolladine).

“There are some areas like Avon Road and Teme Road where it’s a consistent issue. If people are persistently dropping litter in their garden I can see where it can work.”

At the moment, under the Town and Country Planning Act people can be prosecuted for keeping their gardens untidy, but it is very hard to enact and is only available as a last resort. Prosecutions are rare, with town halls finding more success in bringing compulsory purchase orders to take a property off someone’s hands.

Under the new orders residents responsible for ‘persistent, unreasonable behaviour’ can be slapped with an on-the-spot fine.

Officials will have to ask the resident to clear the rubbish away and issue a formal warning, and if this is not complied with, the £100 fine can be dished out.

Councillor Roger Knight, cabinet member for cleaner and greener at the city council, said: “It will be a useful tool when applied with common sense.

“But we can’t have people marching up and down the streets. It will be valuable when we have a situation which can’t be resolved any other way.”

Worcester Community Housing bosses, who manages around 4,800 properties in the city, have also welcomed it.

Ken Carpenter, a WCH director and city councillor, said: “It’s certainly worth trying, we do recognise the problem exists.”

Refusal to pay the fine would lead to a prosecution and the risk of a £2,500 maximum penalty.

The powers are contained in a new Government White Paper, which also reveals plans to scrap anti-social behaviour orders.

Asbos will be replaced by crime prevention injunctions, which will require a lesser burden of proof.