The message from Oxford Mail readers is loud and clear – something needs to be done about our litter-strewn streets.

Images of a messy Cornmarket Street have littered our front pages.

Meanwhile, we have run stories about the dangers to local wildlife when litter floats along the River Thames – plus council attempts to clampdown on flytippers.

Today we team up with Oxford City Council and local businesses to launch a new campaign aimed at reducing the £1m being spent every year to clean the city’s streets.

Among the most frequent calls to our newsdesk are those about the dire state of one area or another.

In a rough poll of people in the city centre last week the response was overwhelming – the streets are messy and unsightly.

For a city of Oxford’s statue, this really is not good enough.

Each year street cleaners collect 600 tonnes of rubbish from the city’s 160 bins and the council estimates a minimum of 100,000 cigarette ends are left on the streets of every week.

Last year it spent £26,000 removing chewing gum from Cornmarket Street alone.

And the less said about dog mess the better.

Time to cut down.

It’s all very well pointing the finger at the council, tourists or a takeaway, but it is a battle we all must play a part in.

The message to everyone is simple – bin your rubbish and help preserve Oxford’s reputation as one of Britain’s most attractive cities.

But it is not just about aesthetics.

For those who claim global warming is not going to be stopped by one household’s attempt to recycle – think again. Remember it is a local war we are fighting too.

During the week we will be joining the litter teams and calling on you to help clean up the city once and for all.