The first anti-spitting by-law in the country will be introduced by Enfield Borough Council next month.

Following years of attempting to force through the policy, new legislation will be introduced on December 8.

The quest to stop spitting started in 2011 as protesters sought to gather 2,750 signatures to trigger a formal debate by the council.

More than 4,800 people eventually signed the petition in support of stopping people who spit on the streets of Enfield.

Those found guilty by litter patrol staff will be fined up to £500.

Enfield Over 50s Forum’s President Monty Meth has played a major role in the campaign and is delighted to see the new by-law come in next month.

He said: “We managed to attract almost 5,000 people to sign this petition, which shows great support across the borough.

“There was slight resentment when the ban was first announced but I think this will definitely help our community come together and will encourage more people to have a greater community involvement.

“There is no doubt that by having support from all parties in the borough that we were able to go to Eric Pickles with a strong case.”

Plans progressed quickly with support growing for a by-law.

Progress seemed to have stalled in October 2012, as the Government’s Department for Communities and Local Government called for more evidence to ban spitting in public.

But campaigners could rejoice in July 2013 when Eric Pickles gave the go-ahead to criminalise spitting in public across the borough.

Enfield Council’s cabinet member for environment Councillor Chris Bond said: “Spitting is an utterly foul and disgusting habit and we’re delighted that the Government has given us the power to prosecute people for spitting in the street.

“It has been a long and tortuous route to this moment but we’re grateful the Government has given the go ahead for our by law. We can now get on with dealing with those disgusting individuals who want to share their spit with the wider community and send out a strong message to show that sort of disgusting behaviour won’t be tolerated in a civilised society.

"We would not have been able to achieve this fantastic result without the support of the community and I’d like to thank the thousands of people who signed a petition backing our campaign and the hundreds of others across Enfield who have shown their support throughout this process and shared our view that spitting in the street shouldn’t be tolerated.”