Chewing gum to be removed from streets

Educational posters are being put up around Dawlish

A grant to remove chewing gum and prevent it from being dropped has been awarded to a council in Devon.

Teignbridge Council has been given £18,297 for the project.

The council is one of more than 50 across the country to receive funding from the Chewing Gum Task Force.

The money will be used to provide specialist equipment called gum busters to clean chewing gum off pavements. The council will also install educational signs to encourage people to put their chewing gum in a bin.

Mark Pepper, waste operations manager for Teignbridge Council, says the gum buster machines dissolve chewing gum on pavements

Charity Keep Britain Tidy said the scheme saw chewing gum firms invest up to £10m over five years.

Mark Pepper, waste operations manager for Teignbridge Council, said the funding had enabled the council to buy one gum buster machine and two portable buster backpacks.

He said the equipment used an environmentally safe chemical which was heated up and then dissolved the chewing gum off the pavements.

Mr Pepper said "it's a habit we need to change" and urged people to put their chewing gum in the bins.