Pubs among the targets of litter campaign

Businesses and smokers are being targeted in a new campaign launching this week, aimed at keeping the streets clean after July 1.

Free posters and discounted cigarette bins are being made available to pubs under the Keep Britain Tidy push - while campaign posters, urging smokers to act responsibly, will appear on bus shelters and billboards across the country.

Keep Britain Tidy hopes that educating smokers through posters and other material will ensure pub gardens and streets are kept clean after the smoking ban. Fag butts, films and packets already appear on 80 per cent of streets in England.

Alan Woods, chief executive of Keep Britain Tidy, said: "It's not a good advert for a business if the doorway welcomes customers with a wealth of cigarette ends and packets. By installing a cigarette bin it offers smokers a safe way to dispose of their cigarettes."

Posters available to licensees include one depicting a dropped fag end with a camouflage design and the strap line 'however you disguise it, it's still litter' - and another featuring a cigarette butt sporting a fishnet stocking and the line 'however you tart it up, it's still litter'. Smokers are also being encouraged to carry a portable ashtray around so they can dispose of their fag butt when there is not a bin nearby.

Cigarette bin manufacturers meanwhile have linked up with the campaign to offer a 40 per cent discount, or a free bin when you buy four.

For more details, and for the free poster, visit www.keepbritaintidy.