Smokerstold to bin their butts

A two-week campaign is being launched to change people's attitudes and behaviour towards dropping cigarette litter. Its start will be highlighted by the presence in the town centre next Tuesday of two giant cigarette butts handing out portable ashtrays.

The butts, alias Arun District Council's smokefree officer Anthony Gardner and street scene co-ordinator Dan Cox, will be joined by council chairman Cllr Graham Tyler for the occasion.

Advertising to reinforce the message will appear on bus shelters, beer mats, in washrooms and on the floors and windows of local businesses to encourage smokers to dispose of their litter responsibly.

An estimated 122 tonnes of cigarette butts, matches and related litter is dropped across the UK every day.

Keep Britain Tidy has joined with just ten local authorities around the country to help to counter the fact that smoking-related rubbish is the UK's biggest litter problem. The message is backed by the threat of 80 on the spot fines for anyone who throws a cigarette butt on the street rather than in a bin.

Mr Cox stated: 'While we hope that the advertising campaign will be enough to make most people bin their butts, we will also have enforcement officers on the streets who will act against any offenders.

'An 80 fine is rather an expensive price to pay for not thinking.'