A CAMPAIGN encouraging people to take more pride in their town is being launched today by the Journal.In a bid to crack down on litter louts and fly tippers, we have teamed up with Waveney District Council to make the streets in and around Beccles, Bungay and Halesworth, cleaner and safer.

A CAMPAIGN encouraging people to take more pride in their town is being launched today by the Journal.

In a bid to crack down on litter louts and fly tippers, we have teamed up with Waveney District Council to make the streets in and around Beccles, Bungay and Halesworth, cleaner and safer.

And we want YOU to highlight your trouble spots so we can get them tidied up by calling our new hotline on 01502 527158.

Tidy Towns is a response to many complaints about the lack of respect given to places of beauty, interest, or just the street you live in by dumping rubbish.

Shop walls smeared with graffiti, fly posting and failing to pick up dog faeces are some of the other crimes that appear to be marring your town or village.

So to give these areas a facelift you need to report them to The Journal or the council.

We want to find some enthusiastic volunteers to organise community litter picks. The council will provide all the equipment and remove all the waste after you've finished, all you have to do is send The Journal a picture of your black spot before and after, and tell us what you've found.

You could be part of a community group or organisation - maybe Scouts, Brownies or Lions club - needing to make use of a particular field, wood or other outdoor facility, and by using just a few pairs of gloves and bags you could transform it in hours.

Equally if you see some furniture dumped, litter strewn across your street, or you're aware of an area that is constantly abused, take a picture and send it to us.

Mike Daniels, cleansing service manager for Waveney Norse said: “Each week we will inform readers of the reports we have received and dealt with and we also provide information and support to try and counter any recurring issues we come across.

“We would like to encourage people to look after their towns and ask everybody to help us keep them clean and tidy for residents and visitors alike. In rolling out the scheme, we hope to generate strong support in the market towns and we are looking forward to seeing how things progress.”

Ken Sale, Waveney's portfolio holder for the environment added: “It is really heartening to see people demonstrating pride in their area, so share your before and after shots following a litter pick or report an issue so our teams can tackle it and highlight some solutions to minimise its recurrence. The success of this campaign relies on two-way communication and we hope we have your support.”

To kick start our campaign the council have chosen this week to place new recycling bins in the three markets towns, as well as launch their new incident ticketing scheme.

As one of only a handful of councils across the country to do this, they have provided training to staff such as lifeguards, harbourmasters, car park inspectors and cleansing workers so they can record evidence of any environmental crime they witness to be used as a basis for legal action.

These latest recruits join PSCOs who have been trained to issue fixed penalty notices in the fight against these crimes.

Training has taken place throughout the summer and now the team have already issued 61 fixed penalty notices, prosecuted six people and sent letters to 12 people.

Alongside the Tidy Towns campaign Suffolk Police launched Not in my Neighbourhood Week on Monday aimed at making improvements in communities, with various agencies working together on a common problem identified through either the parish or town council.

Chewing gum left on pavements was one of the issues raised and as a direct result the team have launched chewing gum targets scattered across Beccles and Bungay for people to place their unwanted gum. Halesworth Skatepark was deemed to be another area needing attention.

To report an issue, or organise a tidy-up, email Mike.Daniels@ncsgrp.co.uk or telephone 01502 527158. Send any details or photographs of your litter picks or black spots to Tidy Towns, 20 Blyburgate, Beccles, NR34 9TB.