Grimsby: Chewing gum clean-up after town wins government cash

Chewing gum can be difficult and time-consuming to remove from pavements

New cash to pay for chewing gum to be cleaned from Grimsby's streets will help to "improve the look" of the town centre, the council has said.

North East Lincolnshire Council is to receive £20,000 in funding from the government's chewing gum taskforce.

It is one of more than 40 councils across the UK to be awarded grants of up to £70,000.

The scheme is funded by the major gum producers, who have said they will provide £10m spread over five years.

It is estimated cleaning gum from streets costs councils across the UK about £7m annually.

Environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy said about 87% of England's pavements were stained with gum.

Stewart Swinburn, North East Lincolnshire's portfolio holder for environment, said: "The £20,000 will be a big help for our street cleansing team and will improve the look of Grimsby town centre.

"Chewing gum stains are difficult and time-consuming to remove, often requiring specialist cleaning fluid and equipment."

He said cleaning Grimsby's pavements would begin in the coming months.

Established by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs and run by Keep Britain Tidy, the gum taskforce aims to clean gum off pavements and put in measures to stop it being dropped in the first place.

Grants from the scheme will go towards specialist cleaning equipment and signage warning people not to drop their gum.

Environment Secretary George Eustice said dropped gum and littering blighted towns and cost taxpayers money.

"Working with responsible gum manufacturers, we are now giving councils extra help to clean up our cities and towns," he said.