Ealing Council is launching a campaign to clamp down on litter-louts to rid the borough of burger wrappers, crisp packets and other fast food rubbish.

According to Keep Britain Tidy, food litter is one of the fastest growing types of rubbish in the UK and Ealing council is planning a host of activities to highlight the issue across the borough during April.

To kick-start the events, officers and contractors will be making a clean sweep of Horsenden Lane North, Greenford to clear the area from litter and fly-tips.

This will take place on Sunday, 5 April from 5am-10am and the road will be closed. Envirocrime prevention officers will also be joining forces with the parks team to take part in a big tidy-up at Horsenden Hill.

Food outlets will be encouraged to show their support and sign up to Ealing’s litter charter.

The charter is a way for businesses to pledge to work with the council, improve the local area and do more to keep Ealing clean and green.

Reducing packaging, picking up the litter around the premises and making sure their own waste is stored correctly, could make an immediate impact.

There will be dedicated community clean-up days where officers, traders and volunteers will be sprucing up the area.

The council’s envirocrime prevention team will be targeting hotspot areas to rid the streets from grime and clamping down on litter-bugs. Anyone caught dropping rubbish will receive a warning letter and after that they could face a fixed penalty notice of up to £80.

Councillor Sue Emment, Cabinet Member for Environment and Street Services, said: "We are continually looking at ways to improve the borough and make our streets even cleaner. There are 900 bins across the borough so I won’t accept that people think it’s okay to drop their rubbish."

"It’s dirty and disgusting and we will not stand by and let an uncaring few ruin the borough for everyone else. We will take action."