WAR has been declared on a sticky subject in Dursley and Wotton-under-Edge.

Stroud District Council is set to do battle with discarded chewing gum which blights pavements and walkways. SDC has been awarded £11,382 from the Chewing Gum Task Force which is administered by Keep Britain Tidy.

The grant will help clean up gum.

The council is one of 54 across the country which successfully applied for the funding.

Now in its third year, the scheme is funded by gum manufacturers including Mars Wrigley and Perfetti Van Melle.

Established by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, the task force grant scheme is open to councils across the UK who wish to clean up gum in their areas and invest in long-term behaviour change to prevent it being dropped.

Martin Brown, vice-chair of SDC’s environment committee, said: “Chewing gum makes our lovely towns look dirty and uncared for, and removing it is a time-consuming and costly exercise.

“Securing the funding from the Chewing Gum Task Force will not only help us clean it up but will also help to prevent it being dropped on the streets in future.”

Allison Ogden-Newton, chief executive of Keep Britain Tidy, said: “Chewing gum litter is highly visible on our high streets and is both difficult and expensive to clean up.

“Therefore, the support for councils provided by the Chewing Gum Task Force and the gum manufacturers is very welcome.

“However, once the gum has been cleaned up, it is vital to remind the public that when it comes to litter - whether it’s gum or anything else - there is only one place it should be - in the bin.

“That is why the behaviour change element of the task force’s work is so important.”

According to Keep Britain Tidy, around 77 per cent of England’s streets and 99 per cent of retail sites are stained with gum.

Meanwhile, estimates suggest that the annual clean-up cost of chewing gum for councils in the UK is around £7 million.

In its second year, the task force awarded 55 councils a total of £1.56 million, helping clean an estimated 440,000 square metres of pavement.

By combining targeted street cleaning with specially-designed signage, participating councils achieved reductions in gum littering of up to 60 per cent in the first two months.