People caught dropping litter in an area well-known for its beaches and beauty spots could face on-the-spot fines of up to £500.

North Norfolk District Council is expected to increase the highest charge for fixed penalty notices (FPN) from £80 to the maximum it is legally allowed to.

The Liberal Democrat-run authority will also raise fines for fly-tipping and the move comes after large amounts of waste were left on beaches earlier this year.

Tony Bates, from Cromer, set up a litter-picking group in response and said the incidents had left locals "embarrassed" after rubbish was left strewn on the sand during a heatwave.

With a range of picturesque beaches, north Norfolk remains a popular destination for visitors.

But like most parts of England, fly-tipping is an issue and earlier this year there were high-profile cases of littering on beaches in Cromer and Wells.

With temperatures soaring to 30C (86F), the council's clean-up in Cromer took two days.

Not long after, Bates, who moved to the town last year, put out an appeal for volunteers to pick litter.

He said 45 people had signed up.

"We felt kind of embarrassed that our lovely little town was getting the wrong headlines about having litter," he explained.

"We've been doing two picks a week [collecting] bagfuls and bagfuls of rubbish.

"You walk around, there's tourists, there's locals all saying 'well done'."

"North Norfolk is not the worst hit area in this country for fly tipping and littering," said Callum Ringer, the council's cabinet member responsible for waste services.

"We're grateful for that, but where we do have instances, there's real frustration in communities about that and anger."

As well as raising the FPN to £500, the maximum penalty for fly-tipping could rise from £300 to £1,000.

"These heftier fines will hopefully make people think twice before they commit any of these offences," added Ringer.

Locals and visitors to Cromer welcomed the idea of tougher punishments for people who dropped rubbish.

Andrew Skelton, from Telford in Shropshire, said there was "no excuse for it when there's loads of bins, is there?".

"I think they're just lazy – they should take their rubbish home with them," added his wife Heather.

"That's quite steep," said Brian Maden, who was visiting from St Neots in Cambridgeshire.

"But people definitely need fining for throwing litter around."

Andy Britain, who lives in Cromer, questioned whether the fines were being enforced.

"How are they going to police it? I don't really ever see anyone around dealing with any litter, but then I don't really see much litter in Cromer."

The council's cabinet is expected to approve the new levels for fines on Monday and Ringer said that with the government due to increase the maximum penalties again — up to £5,000 for fly-tipping and £750 for littering — a further rise was likely.

While he admitted the number of penalty notices given for dropping litter was likely to be low, he warned those caught fly-tipping could end up in court, where the maximum fine was unlimited.

He added that "heftier fines will hopefully make people think twice before they commit any of these offences".

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