THURROCK Council has launched a poster campaign to urge residents and visitors to the borough to make sure they put their litter in bins or take it home with them.

The authority says that last year its street cleaning team cleared up nearly 3,500 tonnes of litter from the borough's streets.

"Even though they do an excellent job of keeping the borough clean you can help them by simply putting your litter in a bin," said a spokesperson.

"If the bins are full then please take litter home to help keep our parks, green spaces, pavements and roads as clean and clear as possible."