War has been declared on litter louts, with a promise to "shame and embarrass" those who refuse to clear up after themselves.

Gravesham council is stepping up its street cleaning operations with extra staff and equipment to tackle a rise in litter.

But the authority is now calling on people to do their bit, adding it would not be afraid to "shame and embarrass" anyone falling foul of these standards.

A poster and social media campaign will see messages plastered around the borough urging people to think again before discarding their litter.

It will give them three possible reasons for their behaviour: that they are "lazy and selfish"; they "don’t care about their community"; or they think "other people should be paid to clean up after them".

Leader of the council Cllr John Burden said people needed to step up and take responsibility for their actions.

“In our budget announcement in February we committed to stepping up our efforts to tackle litter,” he said.

“Despite the financial challenges we face as a result of the coronavirus lockdown and our response to that, we have stood by that commitment and made a six-figure investment to bolster our cleansing teams and give them specialist equipment to support them in their work.

“But they cannot be everywhere all of the time. People must take responsibility for their own environment, use the bins provided and, if we haven’t had a chance to empty those bins, take their litter home with them.”

The council leader praised the majority of residents who he said had taken pride in where they lived, with many picking litter or joining organised picks.

“In an ideal world, everyone would behave in the way most of our residents do but there are too many lazy and selfish individuals who don’t,” he said.

“Dropping litter should be as socially unacceptable as drink driving, and I make no apology for attempting to shame and embarrass the anti-social minority through this latest campaign.”

Just a few weeks ago, the council shared an image on social media of rubbish left behind at Gordon Promenade.

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