A DISTRICT council is to repeat an operation to clean up litter, fly tipping and grafitti.

Twenty towns and villages in the Easington district will be spruced up in a combined effort by more than 100 council workers, community volunteers and probation services staff members.

The last two clean-ups were hailed a huge success with more than 200 tonnes of fly tipping material and nearly 2,000 bags of litter cleared away. Enforcement officers will also take part in the week-long spring clean, issuing £50 on-the-spot fines to anyone caught littering or letting their dog foul in a public place.

Posters advising people about the spring clean campaign will be put up around the district.

Executive member for environment Councillor George Patterson said: "The spring clean campaign will run for one week, but we hope members of the public will help us by continuing our work after the blitz is over.

"While our last two clean- ups collected a huge amount of waste, ideally we don't want to be having to collect anything at all.

"Fly tipping and littering needn't be a problem in the district."

There is free service for bulky waste removal. Call Envirocall on 0191-527 5040