The 'no quarter given' approach means litter louts will not be given the option of picking up their rubbish and putting it in the nearest bin.

The city council currently spends �1m a year keeping Gloucester clean.

Councillor Andrew Lewis said: "It's no more 'Mr Nice Guy' as far as tackling litter on our streets is concerned."

"We have been running educational and promotional campaigns about litter and now we have to start getting tough.

The new regime is due to come into force from Wednesday 21 June.

More residents have been coming forward to report incidents of litter dropping since the recent campaigns and more fixed penalty notices for littering have been issued.