House owners and residents are being warned they face on-the-spot fines of £100 or fines up to £2,500 if prosecuted for failing to clean up their front gardens.

The Council is now serving Community Protection Warnings (CPW), with the threat of a Community Protection Notice (CPN) to follow, to people or organisations responsible for messy or rubbish-strewn front gardens.

The work has resulted in a huge amount of dumped rubbish being speedily cleared from front gardens in Kings Highway, Plumstead, and Paget Rise in Woolwich. In both cases the owners cleaned up their gardens after being threatened with legal action by the Council.

Fines of up to £2,500

Officers from the Council's Environmental Enforcement Team are targeting owners and residents to highlight the negative impact untidy gardens have on the environment and everybody's quality of life.

People are being warned that they'll be served a CPN if they don't clean up front gardens they're responsible for. Breaching a CPN is a criminal offence which has a maximum penalty fine of £2,500 for individuals or £20,000 for groups or organisations.

In cases where properties with untidy gardens are vacant or if owners cannot be traced, officers put a written CPN on the premises. If the notice isn't complied with then the Council can clear the rubbish and bill the owner when they are traced.

'We'll use all our powers'

Councillor Jackie Smith, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Environment, said: "The threat of a fine or prosecution did the trick to get rid of these two eyesores which had become blights on their streets and the neighbourhood.

"It's incredibly disrespectful to neighbours and the community to use a front garden as a rubbish tip. The Council will use all its powers to get people to clean up gardens or open space they are responsible for including serving Community Protection Notices. We're warning people that if they breach the requirements of a CPN it's a criminal offence.

"This action is part of our borough-wide campaign to have the cleanest streets in London. Having clean and tidy streets has a major impact on everyone’s quality of life."