The sandwich boards that line London’s busiest shopping areas are expected to be booted out by mid-August.

Westminster City Council, the first local authority to take such action, expects to issue a public notice before the end of July, which gives 14 days advance warning.

It has the power to prosecute the person holding the sign as well as the company advertised on it. The maximum fine is£2,500.

There are 100 “golf boarders” operating in Westminster at present, with an even split between the Oxford Street area and the Leicester Square/Covent Garden area.

Councillor Daniel Astaire, cabinet member for community protection, said: “Oxford Street and Covent Garden are among the UK’s premier shopping and entertainment destinations, [but] no one wants to fight their way past neon-coloured, make-shift signs on a busy street corner. This is a world-class city not a junk yard.”

Council enforcement officers, as opposed to police officers, are likely to enforce the law.

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