COUNCIL bosses will take the first steps towards cleaning up the streets of Hyndburn at a meeting tomorrow night.

Around 50 representatives for the borough's schools, community groups, residents groups, local businesses, environmental groups, and the Keep Britain Tidy Group and the public are expected to attend a meeting to establish a Litter Commission.

Council leader Peter Britcliffe called for the meeting after figures from Hyndburn Borough Council's Best Performance Plan 2001-2002 revealed that just 80 per cent of the borough's highways were cleaned to an "acceptable level" last year, against a target of 92 per cent.

The figures also showed the council failed to meet targets for bin collections, with 669 missed rounds against a target of 49, although this was blamed on an entire collection round missed due to poor weather over Christmas and New Year.

A report from Hyndburn Council said the borough had suffered from an increase in the amount of household waste being generated, a fall in the amount of rubbish being recycled and their failure to meet clean-up targets for streets.

At tomorrow's meeting these problems will be discussed with a view to decide how the organisations can work together to "make a difference".

It is hoped that a number of those attending will agree to form a Litter Commission which will undertake detailed work on cracking the litter problem in the year ahead.

The working group -- made up of councillors and public representatives -- would meet regularly to look into specific and more general problems and suggest practical ways of improving the situation.

John Davey, assistant director of environmental health, will give a presentation at the meeting looking into the background of the problem and giving initial suggestions on how the Litter Commission might work to rectify existing problems and prevent them in the future.

Coun Britcliffe said that although the council had put additional taxpayers' money into the problem for the last two years and that council staff worked hard to empty the bins, clear up after fly-tippers and sweep the streets, litter was still getting there in the first place and a concerted effort was needed to stop this.

Coun Sandra Hayes, the council portfolio holder for the environment, added: "The Litter Commission is a great idea and offers a positive opportunity for people to get involved in solving the problem.

"No organisation is going to solve this single-handedly and what we need is for everyone to pull together.

"If we are going to achieve a step-change in the cleanliness of the borough then we will have to be determined to make creating litter unacceptable and find ways of putting our words into action."

The public meeting is set to begin at 6.15pm in the Council Chamber of Accrington Town Hall after a buffet at 5.30pm in the Supper Room.