A £1MILLION blitz on Blackburn and Darwen's rubbish-strewn streets was launched today.

People caught dumping rubbish and littering streets were warned they would face court and heavy fines.

A whole host of initiatives, ranging from the appointment of a new town centre caretakers to increased back street cleaning are planned by Blackburn with Darwen Council as part of its 'Thrash the Trash' campaign.

The council has added the extra £1million to its £6.2million cleansing budget in a bid to clean up the area.

It wants the public to get involved by naming grot spots and in return they could win prizes in a monthly draw.

The promise of additional enforcement action for people caught fly-tipping, carrying out graffiti or dropping litter, is also part of the campaign.

Council leader Bill Taylor said: "While the council is ready to put its money where its mouth is and gets it staff to start thrashing the trash, people have to remember it's their money we're spending. This needs to be a contract between the council and citizens to keep the borough clean."

The campaign comes on the back on a host of surveys carried out by the council which revealed litter, rubbish and the general state of the borough was becoming a bigger issue with local people.

Coun Taylor added: "The council is ready to respond to people's needs and we have been told people want an attractive place to live. That is why we're having this massive onslaught to clean up.

"However, this council is always ready to fight for what we believe and we will also be prosecuting those who treat this borough like a dump. We're calling on local people for help with this campaign."

As well as the extra money to prosecute and clean up, schools will be targeted with an educational campaign which aims to teach children good habits at an early age.

Coun Mohammed Khan, executive member for housing and neighbourhoods, said: "People will want to see swift improvements, but they need to be prepared to play their part as well.

"Recently there have been reports about rats and rubbish and it is vital that we educate people to understand they must not encourage pests by dumping waste outside which encourages vermin.

"We'll take this campaign to schools, businesses, mosques, churches, community centres and community groups to educate people and encourage people to keep the borough clean."

Extra jobs are being created as a result. Two town rangers will keep a watch-out for town centre litter louts, an extra pest control officer will be appointed and an additional environmental health officer to secure prosecutions for fly-tipping.

Several town centre caretakers will also be appointed.