A CAMPAIGN to stop people dropping chewing gum will be launched in west Hampshire this summer.

Posters to raise awareness about the social nuisance of discarded gum will go up around the Test Valley area in August and September after Test Valley Borough Council was granted funding yesterday.

The borough is one of 16 local authorities across the country which will receive paid-for advertising from the Government-linked Chewing Gum Action Group.

Ben Bradshaw, minister for local environment quality, said: "I congratulate the successful local authorities and I hope they will make the most of the opportunity this campaign offers to change behaviour by tackling irresponsible disposal of chewing gum in their areas.

"Irresponsible dropping of chewing gum on pavements is an incredibly antisocial activity that blights our public spaces and that can be very expensive and time consuming for those that have to clear up the mess.'' A similar campaign last year led to an average reduction in chewing gum litter of 38 per cent, with one area achieving a reduction of 72 per cent.

Dropping litter - including chewing gum - is punishable by a maximum fine of £2,500 under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005.

First-time offenders may be asked to pay a fixed penalty notice - ranging from £50 to £80 - as an alternative.

The Local Environmental Quality Survey of England found chewing gum stains in 96 per cent of primary retail and commercial sites.

Some local authorities are believed to spend up to £200,000 per year cleaning it up.