SUPERMARKETS in Evesham which fail to collect abandoned shopping trolleys will be stung with a fine under new rules by Wychavon District Council.

Members of the District Council’s Executive Board agreed at a meeting on Wednesday, November 25 to grant officers powers to charge companies £100 for the first abandoned trolley found and £50 for every additional one collected.

The new rules, which will come into force on March 1, 2016, have been sparked by a rise in complaints from residents and councillors about abandoned trolleys littering the district, in particular Evesham.

Earlier this year, the Evesham Journal reported residents living near Morrisons in Davies Road were becoming frustrated with trolleys being left in streets after the company stopped using a lock system.

Councillor Fred Keld, mayor of Evesham, welcomed the new rules, branding abandoning trolleys a "form of antisocial behaviour".

He said: "Evesham is our home and we should treat it with respect. I see it as a form of antisocial behaviour."

Between April and the start of July, Wychavon collected 30 trolleys from watercourses alone, costing the taxpayer about £3,000.

Cllr Emma Stokes, portfolio holder for environment and street scene on Wychavon Council, said: "Initially our aim will be to work with retailers and encourage them to take sensible steps to stop trolleys from being removed in the first place and then to collect them quickly when they are reported as having been abandoned.

"However, if they fail to take responsibility for their property then we will in future have the ability to act and recover our costs without unfairly penalising the council taxpayer."

A spokesperson for Morrisons said: "We’re aware that abandoned trolleys can be a problem but we do our utmost to collect them as soon as we can.

"We patrol our neighbourhood regularly to collect our strays and we also immediately retrieve trolleys when asked by Wychavon Council.

"Our trolleys are valuable to us and we’re constantly reviewing what can be done.”

Meanwhile Tesco, which has a superstore in Worcester Road, said: "Our colleagues always try to ensure that our trolleys stay at our stores for the benefit of our customers, but from time to time they do go missing.

"To make sure they come back to as soon as possible and minimise any inconvenience to our neighbours, we work with a company called Trolleywise to collect them as soon as we know one’s gone astray.

"Customers can even notify Tesco and Trolleywise, via the free Trolleywise app, of any abandoned trolleys, to make sure we act swiftly."