Litter bugs who leave streets strewn with rubbish are being targeted in a major campaign.

The Oxford Mail's sister paper The Witney Gazette has printed posters promoting the campaign, which aims to stop people dropping rubbish in west Oxfordshire.

The campaign aims to highlight the hundreds of thousands of pounds the district council spends every year cleaning up the streets.

It has joined forces with Witney Town Council for the campaign, which aims to spread the message that litter is everyone's concern.

The Gazette's anti-litter posters will be going up in shops, schools and businesses, and an anti-litter day will be taking place in Witney on Thursday, October 26.

The campaign was launched after Witney mayor Chrissie Curry said she was so incensed with litter bugs blighting the streets she felt like picking up the mess and dumping it in their homes.

Ms Curry said: "Recently I saw a group of lads drinking two cases of strong lager in the town.

"They were all off their faces and the litter they left, bottles and paper, was awful.

"The Gazette has been fabulous in printing the posters and I want them put up all over the town."

Ms Curry said she wants to encourage town businesses to sponsor litter bins and wants take aways to take responsibility for their rubbish.

She said: "I don't want them to say it is their customers' responsibility, they have a duty of care and we have got such a lovely town."

Gazette editor Derek Holmes said: "We are delighted to be supporting such a worthwhile cause.

"It is so important to back a campaign which will make for a cleaner west Oxfordshire."

Over the past two years the district council has, on average, picked up 1,350 tonnes of litter across the area a year.

Every week, the council's street cleaners collect an average 200 bin bags full of litter in Witney alone. Events at the launch will include street performers and 'street sweeps' by groups from across the town.

David Harvey, the district council's cabinet member for the environment, said: "The council employs five full-time staff who work 364 days a year keeping Witney free of litter, and spends hundreds of thousands of pounds every year keeping the district's streets clean. We want people to realise the extent of the problem and that they can each make a difference by putting litter in bins or taking it home to recycle. The campaign message is clear: 'Litter it's in your hands'."

Anyone interested in getting involved with the campaign or litter picking can contact Ms Curry on 01993 704379.