The fine for people caught illegally advertising in Wiltshire has been increased more than six-fold.

Wiltshire Council has raised the fixed penalty notice people will pay if they are caught from £75 to £500.

It comes following feedback from communities reporting more incidents of illegal advertising.

Also known as fly-posting, it is defined as the display of advertising material on buildings or street furniture without the consent of the owner or occupier of the land or premises.

However, other types of unauthorised advertisements such as hoardings or A boards fall outside of the remit of fly-posting.

Adverts which are erected on public highways or attached to street furniture, like lampposts or road traffic signs, need to be approved by Wiltshire Council.

Councillor Nick Holder, cabinet member for highways and street scene, said: "Fly-posting is not only unsightly, it is also against the law, and that's why we’re increasing the fixed penalty notice amount and reinforcing our commitment to tackling environmental crime.

“In most cases, we will ask people to remove any illegal advertising in the first instance.

“We also know that there are some community groups, town and parish councils who are keen to showcase their events, such as fetes or fayres on council land.

"We are happy to work with them prior to the event to obtain the required approvals, but we would ask for at least four weeks’ notice."

The council takes action against any signs not permitted on the public highway or on council-owned land.

In the first instance and in small-scale cases, this may be a warning letter advising the person fly-posting they should remove the advertisements.

If fly-posters fail to comply with a warning or they are repeat or large-scale offenders, the council will take further action.

This could mean issuing a fixed penalty notice of £500 per sign, or prosecution, which could lead to a fine of up to £2,500 if the offender is convicted.

If any signs are deemed dangerous or the owner is unknown, officers will remove them immediately.

However, the council allows adverts for non-profit community events, as long as approval from the highways team has been granted in advance

There are also a number of other conditions that must be met to allow these signs to be placed.

These include stipulations on the size of the signs and an agreement on when the signs are erected and removed.