SMOKERS were today warned they face on-the-spot fines if they drop butts in the street.
People avoiding fines by lighting-up outside bars, restaurants and office blocks could be hit in the pocket.
The warning - from the Keep Britain Tidy campaign - comes after figures showed 20% more streets are blighted with cigarette ends than they were five years ago.
Teresa Jennings, the campaign's executive director for the North, said: "Smokers will think they are avoiding a fine by sparking up outside. But if they don't dispose of their cigarette stub responsibly, by putting it in a bin or portable ashtray, they risk being issued with a fine of up to £80 for littering.
"Not only do ditched dog ends look unsightly, they're also costly to clean up.
"In England alone it costs £200m to clean cigarette butts from the pavements."
An estimated 122 tonnes of cigarette ends, matchsticks and other bits of smoking litter are dropped every day.
The campaign is now urging smokers to bin their butts. Posters are being launched and portable ashtrays - called Ashcans - will be sold in Tesco stores from June 4.
The Ashcan, the size and shape of a cigarette, fits into a cigarette packet where it can be used to extinguish stubs.
Teresa added: "It is not just down to smokers to take responsibility. Businesses which don't provide a cigarette bin are making their customers easy prey for enforcement officers.
"Councils have every right to fine people if they are caught dropping litter, whether a crisp packet or a cigarette end.
"Smokers have a number of options to avoid being fined and spoiling our streets - it is vital they start using them."
