Why should we pay to shift litter?

However, in recent weeks several responsible adult males who have confronted misbehaving adolescent yobs have been seriously assaulted or killed, so I don't think his idea of confronting litter yobs to be a good idea. I would make the following suggestion, working on the principle that the polluter pays.

A recent Keep Britain Tidy group survey showed that lazy fast food junkies and drunken youths are responsible for much of the mess blighting our town centres. However councils that had sufficient resolve could soon solve the problem and would win popular support for so doing.

First, refuse planning permission for any more takeaways anywhere as there are already far too many. Then, employ many more litter wardens to enforce the litter laws and ensure that all offenders are prosecuted. However we cannot expect the bravest litter warden to tackle gangs of drunken yobs in the small hours, when much of the problem is created, so I suggest the following solution.

Calculate how much it would cost annually to ensure that towns are clean and litter free and pass all this cost on to takeaways and all other premises selling litter creating goods, such as off licences selling canned drinks, in the form of an additional levy on their business rates. Then charge those that stay open late proportionately far more since their business creates much of the problem.

This levy would have the double benefit of enabling councils to fund a really efficient and deservedly highly paid litter clearing team without burdening all council tax payers with the cost and forcing all takeaways, particularly the late opening ones to increase their charges, thus hopefully lessening demand. Clearing up their mates' filth and vomit would also be an eminently suitable task for the yobs given community service orders rather than prison sentences.

Roger Bruton, Paganel Drive, Dudley.