AI cameras specially designed to catch and fine drivers for dropping litter on motorways are coming into force.
The new CCTV systems will be trialled in the South East of the country.
The cameras will spot offenders and within seconds send the images directly to police control rooms.
The footage can be viewed at once and a £100 fine dispatched to the owner of the vehicle.
The “stop litter” campaign came after protestors threatened to take National Highways to court if it did not fulfil its duties to keep motorways free of rubbish.
The call to take legal action has had backing from MPs of all parties and the supermarket chain Iceland.
Roads minister Richard Holden last month fewer than 40 per cent of National Highways roads are graded below B for litter – meaning there are significant levels of rubbish.
National Highways and East Hampshire District Council have not revealed the company behind the new cameras.
Neither has said where the new technology will be sited within the area.
Freda Rashdi, National Highways head of customer journeys said:
“Littering is a social problem across the country and we’re working hard to tackle it on our roads.
“We regularly carry out litter-picking activities across our roads and are actively exploring other initiatives to address this problem.
‘But if people don’t drop litter in the first place it wouldn’t need to be picked up – so we urge road users to take their litter home instead of throwing it out of their windows.”
John Read, of the Clean Up Britain called the campaign “another meaningless partnership that always delivers no results”.
