A NEW crackdown on people who make a mess of their own neighbourhood is being launched in Burnley.

Five hundred homes in the Leyland Road area will be targeted in a bid to keep the streets free of litter and rubbish.

Householders will be warned about the perils of fly-tipping, overfilling their wheelie bins and encouraged to recycle more.

Council officials will unite with police and firefighters for the campaign, which will target those who carry out anti-social behaviour in the area, regarded as one of the most deprived in the North West.

Those who fail to heed the warning will face prosecution, council bosses said.

Coun Charlie Briggs, cabinet member for community safety, said: “Most people care about their neighbourhood and want to do everything they can to keep it clean and tidy. They’re the people we want to work with.

“There is a small minority who don’t care and who are so selfish they simply dump their rubbish on someone else’s doorstep. They’re the people we want to catch and take action against.”

The scheme follows on from a similar project in Burnley Wood, revealed by the Lancashire Telegraph, earlier this year.

Councillors Julie Cooper, Gary Frayling and Imtiaz Hussain are leading campaigns to clean up Leyland Road, Albert Street and nearby side roads.

The ward also has a poor record when it comes to recycling with some streets seeing no-one taking part and only one in five households in the area committed to reusing household goods.

Burnley is one of 44 Respect action areas which means it gets extra support from the Government in the fight against anti-social behaviour.