POULTON woman Laura Eastham is about to face the two biggest challenges of her life - being a contestant on The Weakest Link and persuading people to stop dropping litter.

But as 23 year-old Laura, a former pupil of Hodgson High School, has made it through two tough interviews already, she should be up to it.

The first was a screen test which should see her appear on Anne Robinson's BBC tv quiz in the near future. The second landed her a job as Keep Britain Tidy's Regional Media Officer.

Organised by charity Environmental Campaigns (ENCAMS), Keep Britain Tidy strives to improve the state of the country's streets, parks and open spaces.

Its last two campaigns have certainly struck a chord with the public.

A series of dog fouling posters featuring a real dog poo, which were launched by actor Ricky Tomlinson, promoted a reduction of the problem by 50% in some areas. The group's latest drive - a grizzly cinema ad featuring rats crawling across a couple's bed - aims to stop people from dropping food litter and hence feeding rodents.

Laura's role will be to reach the public with these messages via the media. And she admits that her part of the world is as much in need of cleaning up as any other.

"Despite the best efforts of the council, Poulton and Blackpool are having to deal with a tide of litter caused purely and simply by the fact that people are too lazy to use a bin," she said.

One of the problems Blackpool faces is that with so many visitors, it is difficult to find an effective way to reach all of them with a "bin-it" message.

"Whereas residents may take great pride in keeping their own town clean, those with no vested interest might not," added Laura.

But having joined Keep Britain Tidy from the Blackpool Pleasure Beach PR Department, Laura is bounding with possible solutions. Keep Britain Tidy is also currently working with a number of seaside towns to talk about encouraging day trippers to be more environmentally friendly. Laura will be promoting the project findings later this year.

ENCAMS also co-ordinates the Blue Flag award for clean beaches and over the past decade, Blackpool has been getting nearer to winning one of these coveted awards.

"Blue Flags are recognised across Europe, South Africa and the Caribbean, so gaining one would improve Blackpool's international reputation still further," she said.