PEOPLE in Hartlepool are being urged to ring a hotline as part of a clean-up effort.

Months after the launch of Operation Clean Sweep, a monthly blitz of different areas of the town, Hartlepool Borough Council has set up a daily Clean Sweep hotline.

Residents are encouraged to report anything which affects the cleanliness and appearance of Hartlepool.

This can be litter, dog fouling, blocked gullies, street cleaning, graffiti, overgrown shrubs, weeds, stray dogs, street lighting and refuse collection.

Stuart Drummond, mayor of Hartlepool, said: "It will take us a while to blitz every area through Operation Clean Sweep so people can make a difference in the meantime by alerting us to problems by phoning the special hotline.

"It's really a case of helping us to help you. If we want to have a town that we can be proud of, it is important everyone works together."

He said the council wanted to hear about anything which people felt was blighting their area. Operation Clean Sweep has been running for three months. So far the Burbank, Brus and Jutland Road areas have felt the benefit.