City of York Council has been chosen as one of ten local authorities in the country to lead the crack down on cigarette litter later this year.

ENCAMS, the keep Britain tidy campaign, has appointed the authorities to lead a national advertising  campaign to remind smokers not to drop their cigarettes. The campaign will start in September, following the inception of the Smoking Ban on 1 July.

Jackie Armitage, the council's Enforcement and Environment manager, said she was delighted that the council had been chosen.

She explained: "The council has been working really hard to reduce the amount of litter on York's streets and we have seen significant improvements over the last few months. However, there's still a long way to go, and been chosen as one of the authorities leading the cigarette litter campaign, we'll be eligible to receive £5,000 to support the campaign in York. I'm delighted that our efforts have been recognised by ENCAMS."

The September campaign will include providing additional enforcement officers and help and support to businesses and posters.

The council's Neighbourhood Services team will also be reminding smokers about the problems of cigarette litter ahead of the smoking ban.