Hounslow is turning the tide in its war against grime, new figures suggest.
A crackdown on litter louts has been hailed for helping achieve a significant fall in the amount of rubbish lining the borough's streets.
Keep Britain Tidy carried out its latest survey in December, and the results, published this week, show the percentage of litter is down from 14.98 in September to 12.7.
Levels of detritus, like fallen leaves reduced from 23.03 per cent to 14.74, and there was also a sharp drop in the amount of weeds, stains and fly-posting observed by inspectors from the charity. Only graffiti levels increased, marginally.
Hounslow Council deputy leader said: "This is good news and, although we still have some way to go, it shows that we are making Hounslow a cleaner borough.
"If you love our streets and hate litter you won’t have to worry about being fined. But if you can't act responsibly you will pay the penalty of £80."
The council and its contractor Hounslow Highways, which is responsible for street cleaning in the borough, have issued 26 on-the-spot fines to people caught dropping litter since adopting a zero tolerance approach to the problem last November.
They have also deployed extra street cleaning teams and installed CCTV cameras at fly-tipping hot spots in that period.
Hounslow Highways service director Rob Gillespie said: "Our increased cleansing regime is beginning to have an effect on the borough's streets. The cleanliness has improved and we will continue to work to make Hounslow a cleaner, greener borough."
Despite the reduction, litter levels are still well above the council's 10 per cent target.
