Street wardens to issue £200 on-the-spot fines

Street wardens in Camden will be able to hand out on-the-spot fines of up to £200 as part of a drive to tackle antisocial behaviour.

Under changes to be introduced over the coming months wardens will be able to issue penalties for offences including littering, fly-posting, nuisance parking and abandoning a vehicle.

Other offences include failing to control dogs or allowing them to foul pavements, creating graffiti or letting rubbish spill onto the street.

Although the maximum penalty for most offences is between £80 and £110, the largest fine is a £200 charge for abandoning a vehicle.

The reforms will see teams of wardens deployed to "hotspot" areas in the borough - including Bloomsbury, Gospel Oak and Cantelowes - where problems are most severe.

The decision by Camden council to introduce the powers, which are likely to lead to complaints about "policing on the cheap", follows what officials say has been the success of the existing warden scheme, which first came into effect in 2002.

Under the revised plan the wardens will be switched from King's Cross - where crime has dropped - and Camden Town, which is already heavily policed, to concentrate on other areas.

These include the Haverstock, Gospel Oak and Kentish Town districts - which are described as having "gang and drugs issues" and a high level of robbery and violence against the under-19s - as well as the Cantelowes district, which lies between Camden Town and Islington. It is said to suffer from prostitution, environmental crime, anti-social behaviour, drug and race hate crime.

Bloomsbury, described as having " significant drugs, alcohol and property crime problems" as well as " significant street-based anti-social behaviour" such as prostitution and "sex carding", will also remain a focus. At the moment, Camden has 15 wardens. The powers to issue the fines will be introduced over the next few months once authorisation has been obtained from the Met.

People who pay within 10 days can obtain a discount, but those who fail to do so within two weeks could face prosecution.