Officials look set to be given the power to issue £100 on-the-spot fines for offences such as drinking alcohol, begging and urinating in two town centres.

Waltham Forest council is likely to sign off on plans to enforce Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) in central areas of Leytonstone and Walthamstow at a meeting this Thursday (June 29).

The orders, which would be enforced in 12 council wards across the borough, could see people fined instantly for committing one of several anti-social behaviour offences.

Police, PCSOs and council officers would be able to write tickets for street drinking, aggressive begging, urination and threatening behaviour, or to people congregating to take drugs or cause a nuisance to neighbours.

Waltham Forest council agreed to consult the public on plans in March and almost 700 residents and business owners responded.

Of those, 94 per cent of respondents said they felt it was fair to fine litterers, while 90 per cent said fines for urinating were fair. Three quarters also wanted tickets for aggressive beggars.

However, not all residents were supportive of the scheme.

In a letter to the council, one respondent said: “PSPOs can be broadly categorised as a type of system that produces unwanted side-effects due to a mismatch of motivations.

“The council’s motivation is to improve the environment, yet for the enforcement officer it is to earn a living and to receive recognition.

“As many people have experienced, this leads to a very different understanding of the purpose of discretion.”

Waltham Forest council would be only the second authority in London, after Hackney council, to introduce a PSPO relating to aggressive begging.

Enfield council is also currently consulting residents on plans to establish a PSPO against begging in the borough.