THE government is to launch a campaign to clean up Britain’s towns and cities in its attempt to stem growing crime and antisocial behaviour.

The initiative, spearheaded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, is part of a series of new laws aiming to rid the streets of “yobbish” behaviour and beggars.

Tony Blair believes the “yob culture” can be beaten if people are able to take pride in attractive, well-maintained neighbourhoods. The approach is similar to that used to cut crime by Rudolph Giuliani when he was mayor of New York.

The main elements of the programme, called Living Places, include:

- Creation of “litter wardens” authorised to issue £50 spot fines for dropping rubbish or failing to clean up after dogs.

- Allowing local authorities to clean up private land — including householders’ gardens — and seek costs.

- A new fast food “code of practice” requiring takeaways to reduce packaging and clear up their litter.

- Banning people from handing out flyers or leaflets in the street without a licence.

- Making companies responsible for cleaning so-called street furniture such as phone boxes and bus shelters.

- Awarding green flags — similar to the blue ones already given to beaches — to parks and other green spaces that are well managed and clean.

- Making shops and other businesses responsible for keeping the pavement in front of their premises clean.

Details of the reforms will be set out next month by Defra when it publishes its initial response to a four-month consultation into ways of improving the environment in neighbourhoods. Britain’s streets have become dirtier over the past decade and are among the filthiest in the developed world.

Councils failing to keep streets clean will be “named and shamed” in new league tables from next year and unhappy residents will be encouraged to use little-known powers to gain legal orders to force local authorities to clean up their neighbourhoods. Government “hit squads” may also be sent to advise on clean-ups and improving green spaces.

Under the proposals local authorities will be allowed to keep money raised from fining people for littering, dog fouling, fly-tipping and vandalism. The fines are to be enforced by the new litter wardens.

Earlier this month Leicester city council became one of the first in the country to start employing the wardens and “tidy teams” wearing special green and yellow uniforms. Other councils currently have small groups of plain-clothes wardens but their schemes have made little impact, partly because money raised must be passed to central government.

“The general tidiness of the streets is of critical importance and we fine people who are caught littering in the city centre,” said Roger Blackmore, the leader of Leicester council. “When the law changes and we can keep the money raised we can reinforce and strengthen these teams.”

The plan to impose spot fines may, however, be called into question. Earlier this year it emerged that louts had ignored almost half the parking ticket-style fines handed out by police under an initiative from David Blunkett, the home secretary.

Concerns have also been raised that allowing councils to keep spot fines may lead to the hire of private companies similar to those that issue parking tickets which have often been accused of being overzealous.

The government will attempt to crack down on “happy hours” in pubs and clubs to cut binge drinking. New guidance from the Department for Media, Culture and Sport, which has responsibility for licensing, is expected later this year allowing councils to stop licensed premises holding cheap drink promotions if it appears they are aimed purely at getting customers drunk. Ministers are negotiating with the drink industry to bring in the ban at the same time as new legislation will allow 24-hour opening for pubs and clubs for the first time.

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