LATE night revellers in East Lancashire are being urged to clean up their act and stop leaving a mess behind on the streets after a drunken night out.

It has been revealed that drunken louts across the North West are returning home in the early hours after staining the pavements with urine, sick and even faeces.

Campaigners Keep Britain Tidy are urging people to be more responsible this New Year's Eve as the cost of cleaning up the mess will only fall back on the taxpayer.

Joanne Whitaker, regional director of Keep Britain Tidy, said: "Since 1995 the amount of public loos in Britain has halved. These yobs who openly defecate the streets are absolutely selfish. They don't care who has to clean up their mess or who has to foot the bill."

As well as spreading disease, the yobbish behaviour seen in every town is also illegal and could lead to a fine under several laws and by-laws.

The state of the pavements in the North West was recently deemed "unsatisfactory" in a Keep Britain Tidy survey.

Joanne Whitaker said: "The police have powers to arrest you for using the street as a lavatory. So if you don't want a spell in the slammer, use a toilet or curb your excesses this New Year."

The campaign group is also urging councils to keep more public toilets open, stage temporary toilets on the streets and ensure they are kept clean.