Covert cameras set up in Essex to catch A12 litterbugs

The cameras use artificial intelligence to match footage of motorists throwing rubbish to their car's number plate

High-tech cameras are to be covertly placed on a stretch of the A12 in Essex to catch drivers throwing litter.

The "LitterCam" cameras are being trialled by Brentwood Borough Council.

They use artificial intelligence to match footage of motorists throwing rubbish to their car's number plate, and could lead to a £150 fine.

Councillors said there was a "major problem" with littering in the borough along the trunk road, particularly between Brook Street and Ingatestone.

Liberal Democrat councillor David Kendall said the amount of rubbish along that stretch was "horrendous" and the "amount of fly-tipping that's going on down there is literally criminal".

"Anything that can obviously stop that is important," he said.

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The borough council agreed to back a trial of the digital surveillance technology for 14 days at a cost of £4,500, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

LitterCam spots motorists discarding rubbish from their vehicles before alerting the local council and the DVLA to the offence.

The council said the exact position of the cameras would not be publicised

The scheme has already gone live in Kent, where Maidstone Borough Council became the first local authority to test the scheme in an initial one-year pilot.