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Win £75 by putting your litter in the bin

Throwing rubbish in a litter bin could win someone £75 as part of a new council drive to clear up Wolverhampton's streets.

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Bosses want to encourage people to do their bit and keep the city tidy by reversing a fixed penalty fine given to those who drop litter.

A team of council workers who work out and about in the community are issuing raffle tickets to people they see using bins, with a winner drawn each month being presented with a cheque for £75.

The competition is not costing taxpayers any money because the prizes have been sponsored by contractors who work with the council.

So far, two winners have received their cheques – Karl Hughes, from Blakenhall and Simon Jones from Stowlawn.

The awards were sponsored by contractors RSS Playground Inspection & Maintenance and SJ Pritchard.

Winner Mr Hughes said: "It's so easy to use a litter bin, you don't have to walk far to find one in Wolverhampton and if you can't immediately find one, there is still no excuse to drop litter."

The city council will run the competition for the next two months.

The £75 figure was chosen because it is the same amount as the fixed penalty fine that is given to people who drop litter.

Councillor Steve Evans, cabinet member for city environment, said: "Maintaining a cleaner, greener, better Wolverhampton is one of our priorities.

"This litter bin raffle is a way of encouraging people to put litter and dog mess in a bin, but also reward people who are doing the right thing.

"The message is use a bin and you might be spotted by our park and countryside rangers or street cleaning supervisors who will give you a raffle ticket and if you get drawn out, you could win £75.

"We are delighted that contractors who work for the council has sponsored the competition which means that it isn't costing taxpayers a penny."

Around 500 complaints are made every year about dog mess in the city. And a recent survey of residents found that 91 per cent felt it was a problem in their neighbourhood.

Earlier this year, the council organised a two month, £200,000 blitz operation to clean up Wolverhampton's streets.

Top priority was given to ridding the streets of chewing gum and dog mess during what was dubbed Operation Spring Clean.

According to a report published ahead of the project, its aim was to 'encourage communities to become proud of keeping their streets clean and be ashamed of unsightly mess'.

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