Thurrock Council has launched a poster campaign to urge residents and visitors to the borough to make sure they put their litter in bins or take it home with them.

Cllr Andrew Jefferies, Cabinet Member for Environment, said: "Our street cleaning team does an excellent job of keeping the borough clean and tidy. The best way to help them is to make sure that all litter goes into the hundreds of litter bins we have provided in streets and parks across the borough.

"There is never any need to make the borough untidy by dropping litter. Simply put it in a bin or, if the bin is full, take it home to go in your waste bin.

"By playing our part and making sure our litter goes in a bin instead of on the floor we are all helping to make Thurrock a cleaner, greener and nicer place for everyone. Last year it cost Thurrock Council Tax payers £2.5million to clear waste and litter from the borough’s streets, parks and other public places.”

Thurrock Council has received positive inspection reports from Keep Britain Tidy, which have found that 94% of the borough had no littering and 96% had no graffiti.

Those caught littering could receive a £150 fixed penalty notice or be taken to court and fined up to £2,500.