A DISTRICT council are putting the brakes on littering motorists. South Cambridgeshire District Council is taking part in a national campaign launching today (Thursday 9 July) to tackle the problem of drivers and their passengers throwing rubbish out of v

A DISTRICT council are putting the brakes on littering motorists.

South Cambridgeshire District Council is taking part in a national campaign launching today (Thursday 9 July) to tackle the problem of drivers and their passengers throwing rubbish out of vehicles.

According to Tidy Britain Group research, nearly a quarter of people - 23 per cent - admit to dropping litter from their vehicle. Vehicle littering most often involves cigarette butts, chewing gum, drinks containers, fruit peel and fast food packaging - with taxpayers footing the bill to clear it up.

Cllr Sue Ellington, the district council's environmental services portfolio holder, said, "We're committed to making South Cambridgeshire a place where residents are proud to live. Litter can be a blight on our roads, which is why we provide an effective and efficient street cleansing service across the district, but this is costly - �35,000 a year is spent just helping to clear the 25km stretch of the A14 and the 15km stretch of the A11.

"We want to encourage people to think about this problem and to stop littering from their vehicles. It could be easily remedied by people taking their litter home and disposing of it properly," she said.

People are being asked to report vehicle littering on the Keep Britain Tidy website at www.keepbritaintidy.org to help track local and national vehicle littering trends. Reports can also be made to the district council on 03450 450 063, or at www.scambs.gov.uk/reportit which enforcement officers will follow up.