Huge yellow cartoon characters are being sent out en masse in New Delhi - but these aren't the Simpsons, they're out to stop people pooing in the streets.

The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has recruited 28 people to wear comical mascot outfits and patrol the area, fining people who defecate and urinate in public.

To make matters all the intimidating for would-be lawbreakers, the mascots - who will wear masks and yellow costumes, have been instructed to blast on a whistle if they spot anyone in the act.

The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has recruited 28 people to wear comical mascot outfits and patrol the area, fining people who defecate and urinate in public

They will work in pairs patrolling their designated areas.

An NDMC spokesperson said: 'This is an attempt to make our areas free from open defecation and urination.

'If the mascots find anyone defecating or urinating in the open, they will inform the circle official and a fine will be imposed on the defaulter.

'The council has also started painting the walls across its jurisdiction to put an end to open urination.'

The NDMC is giving special attention to spots such as areas along railway tracks known to be popular with al fresco defecators.

The spokesman added: 'The council has already developed public, as well as mobile toilets in areas where open defecation is a normal affair.

'The ministry of urban development has already declared NDMC area as 100 percent open defecation-free.'

He added that the decision to use mascots to clean up the town was partly in the hope of securing a better place in India’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan rankings, which aims to reward tidier municipalities. Inspections are due in January.