Machine blasts chewing gum off town centre streets

The pavement gets a deep clean to blast away chewing gum

Chewing gum is being blasted from the streets of a town centre thanks to a £17,300 grant.

The clean-up in Farnborough comes after Rushmoor Borough Council became one of 52 areas across the country to receive money from the Chewing Gum Task Force.

Christine Guinness, council cabinet member, said: "Chewing gum is unsightly and nobody wants it stuck on the end of their shoes and then traipsed in through their house."

She said the clean-up makes people think twice about dropping their gum on the floor.

Dirt is removed from the pavement near Princes Mead shopping centre, along with the gum

The chewing gum is removed with water and the council says people think twice about dropping mess when it is cleaned

"People think more afterwards about what they're doing and and you find that for quite a long time people don't put their chewing gum on the floor and do actually use the bins."

She added: "Hopefully Farnborough will look amazing."

Cleaning teams used a machine to clean away detritus from the pavements to see the gum.

They then use heat and low pressure which melts the gum so it drains away along with other dirt.

Cleanliness

Town centres and markets manager Diane Highet said: "We want a town centre that people are proud to visit.

"We want people to be able to sit and not have to worry about what they're sitting in."

According to a recent council survey 98% of people were concerned about the cleanliness of town centres.

Some shoppers who spoke to the BBC backed the clean-up, while one thought it was a waste of money.

Steve Chapman welcomed the clean-up of the town centre streets

Paul Hamilton welcomed the move. "I've trodden in it, I think we all have, it's horrible," he said.

Steve Chapman, from Farnborough, added: "It's a very good idea. It's disgusting on the streets."

The Chewing Gum Task Force was established by the government and is administered by Keep Britain Tidy. It brings together major gum producers to clean-up litter on the streets.

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