Police seized the tout's vehicle.

Police swooped on an illegal labour tout offering £50 for a day’s work outside a Tottenham hardware store as part of a council crackdown on the activity recently.

Operation Stop It sent council officers, police and bailiffs to an area outside Wickes in Seven Sisters Road on August 2 to catch vehicles wanted by the County Courts.

During the operation, police watched a driver pull up and offer a Bulgarian man waiting outside Wickes £50 for a day’s work, which the man was happy to accept.

Police challenged the driver who admitted to using the vehicle for business purposes.

He was issued with a fixed penalty notice because his car was not insured and the vehicle was seized by police.

Cllr Nilgun Canver, cabinet member for the environment, said: “As long as employers come to this area looking for cheap labour, then desperate people will wait to try and get work.

“This area is notorious for men congregating - sometimes all day - looking for cash-in-hand work. When they don’t get it they can spend the day drinking and causing anti-social behaviour in the area.”

During Operation Stop It, which targeted unpaid fines, unauthorised waste carriers and other suspect vans and cars, the council issued a further 16 fixed penalty notices and police seized two more vehicles.