Hull: Chewing gum removed in major city centre clean-up

Chewing gum is removed from King Edward Street in Hull

Thousands of chewing gum stains have been removed from Hull city centre's pavements as part of a "deep clean".

Teams were sent out by Hull City Council on Sunday night to clean Whitefriargate, Queen Victoria Square, King Edward Street and Jameson Street.

The city centre clean-up was paid for using a £20,000 government grant, the council said.

Councillor Julia Conner said gum stains were "one of the most frequent complaints" made to the authority.

Council workers remove chewing gum from Queen Victoria Square

The funding would also be used to pay for signage urging people to dispose of gum responsibly, the authority added.

Gum manufacturers, including Mars, Wrigley and Perfetti Van Melle, have contributed to a £10m package aimed at tackling gum stains over the next five years.

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

About 87% of England's pavements are stained with gum, environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy has previously said.