Football club tackles chewing gum

"Gum wraps" and posters will be used during the campaign

Middlesbrough Football Club has backed a crackdown on chewing gum on streets throughout the town.

A campaign has been started by the town's council in a bid to highlight and combat the problem.

The four week project, part of a national scheme, will feature posters in the town centre and on buses.

"Gum wraps" have been produced from recycled paper and will be available free from pubs, clubs, newsagents, and council buildings across the town.

Dave Allan, spokesman for the football club, said: "We are more than happy to join forces with Middlesbrough Council.

"The car parks and walkways around the Riverside Stadium suffer from the problem of chewing gum as much as anywhere else."

Council enforcement officers can impose a fine of up to £80 on anyone caught spitting or throwing down chewing gum on the street.

Helen Hodgson, who is co-ordinating the campaign, said: "We've had an estimate to clean the town centre and we are talking £17,000 just to remove the gum that is already there.

"We have selected ten monitoring sites and will see how effective the campaign is, the problem is people don't see it as litter."