City's streets undergo chewing gum cleaning blitz

Cleaning teams are to work on the streets of Durham during evenings across September

A city's streets are undergoing a "blitz" clean to get rid of disposed chewing gum.

Cleaning teams are to work on the streets of Durham during evenings across September.

Durham County Council said removing gum was "notoriously expensive" but it secured a £27,418 grant from the Chewing Gum Task Force, which is managed by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy.

Councillor John Shuttleworth said the situation was "entirely avoidable" so the authority would also be putting up signs to remind people to dispose of gum properly.

Similar schemes in other parts of the country have had lasting effects, with a reduced rate of gum littering still being observed six months after clean-up, Keep Britain Tidy said.

The work started in Claypath and will next move on to Silver Street and Framwellgate Bridge, before finishing in North Road, the council said.