TODAY we put our foot down and say enough is enough and the scourge of litter that plagues our town must be stopped.

Piles of rubbish scattered around our streets and green spaces are a regular sorry sight for scores of Swindon residents and visitors.

We’re calling on our loyal readers to join litter picks around the town and commit to always putting their rubbish into a bin instead of tossing their trash onto the floor.

Manchester Road, The Meads in Eldene,Corporation Road, and Broadgreen are frequent ‘grot-spots’ according to an online survey the Adver carried out.

Daniel Wallis said: “The litter and rubbish problem around the Manchester Road area is a real problem and health hazard.

“Mattresses, rubbish and waste are dumped all around the back alleys of the properties in the roads off of Manchester Road and Broad Street. This brings rats and maggots. Something needs to be done.”

Holly Bouquet said: “Broadgreen alleyways are disgusting.”

The town centre’s bus station makes for an unpleasant first impression for people travelling into the town - and the rest of the town centre did not fare much better, according to our readers.

Jason Hunt said: “I parked in the Whalebridge car park and there was rubbish all up the stairs, tissues covered in blood, drug paraphernalia and burnt bits of paper.

“It wasn’t pleasant. I got the one thing I wanted in town and left because I didn’t want to hang around too long.”

Lyndsey Mattinson said: “How about people take responsibility for their own litter for a change and at least try and put it in a bin?

“I’m a member of a group called Paws on Plastic and we litter pick while walking our dogs. It’s disgusting how little effort people make to put stuff in the bin. It’s easy to blame the council but the rubbish doesn’t get there by itself.”

Debbie Twigg said: “I think everywhere in Swindon could do with a massive clean-up.”

Mandy Given said: “Nobody takes responsibility for the rubbish that falls out of their boxes on recycling day on Kingshill Road.”

South Swindon Parish Council chairman Chris Watts backed the Adver’s campaign and talked about how he and other councillors try to keep the area tidy.

Mr Watts said: “This is a great initiative. Anything that the people of Swindon can do to make the town look better for everybody and improve the environment is well worth supporting.

“This ties in with our South Swindon In Bloom initiative which we launched earlier this year and have won awards for doing.

“The parish council has supported many litter picking groups by offering advice and supplying equipment like high-visibility jackets, bags, litter-pickers, and gloves.

“We would be happy to continue doing this for any group that want to help out.”

With your help, we can clean up this stain on Swindon and help make it a more attractive place to live and visit.

A Swindon Borough Council spokesman said: “We engage with the community over issues relating to litter and cleanliness in a number of ways, from going into schools on a regular basis to educate pupils about looking after the environment to working closely with parish councils and community groups who are proactive in undertaking litter picks.

“Our dedicated town centre team works with inSwindon to keep the centre clean and tidy.

“We fully support the Advertiser’s campaign to highlight this very important issue and we would encourage people to get involved with litter picks when they are organised in their local communities. As well as improving our environment, they are great ways of keeping active.”

Swindon Advertiser editor Pete Gavan said :”There are few more depressing sights on our streets than litter.

“Whether its fast-food wrappers, discarded bottle or worse, it’s a blight Swindon could well do without.

“So today we kick off a campaign which will run throughout 2020.

“We, with your help, want to made litter on Swindon’s streets a thing of the past.

“We know it won’t be easy - there’s no quick fix.

“It will take simple hard work to make a difference and clear it up. Then it’s a hearts and minds operation to make people think again about dropping litter in future.

“We want to hear from you if you’d like to lend a hand.

“Whether an individual, family, Scout group or church, if you want to join us in sprucing up Swindon then get in touch. The first challenge is identifying the worst areas.

“This campaign is not about flytipping though, so it’s the places where litters, from cigarette ends to sweet wrapper has gathered.

“The second will be attempting to organise litter picks targeting those areas. We’ll be there of course, lending a hand.

“And we’ll keep track of how much rubbish we’ve removed from Swindon’s streets.

“So if you’d like to get involved, please email me at pete.gavan@newsquest.co.uk. with Let’s Make Litter History in the subject line. Thanks.”