A £70,000 cash boost will go towards educating people about chewing gum littering.

Camden and Brent councils put in a successful joint bid for funding from the government’s new Chewing Gum Task Force.

Established by Defra and run by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, the task force aims to clean gum off pavements and put in measures to stop it being dropped in the first place.

Camden Town station and Camden High Street are two areas that will benefit from the cash.

Several UK councils were given grants of £20,000 to buy cleaning equipment and signage telling people not to litter gum.

Ham & High: Sonia Shah (Vice Chair of WCARA), Trevor Gaskin (Keep Wembley Tidy) and Councillor Krupa Sheth (Wembley Central) promoting the a no paan spitting campaign in 2018Sonia Shah (Vice Chair of WCARA), Trevor Gaskin (Keep Wembley Tidy) and Councillor Krupa Sheth (Wembley Central) promoting the a no paan spitting campaign in 2018 (Image: Archant)

In 2021 Brent Council reignited a campaign to clamp down on paan spitting, a practice where a tobacco leaf-based mixture is chewed and spat out.

Cllr Adam Harrison, Camden's cabinet member for a sustainable Camden, said the money will be used by both councils to hire out external contractors and fund education programmes.

“It is really great news that Camden and Brent’s joint bid has been successful, and we have been awarded funds from the Chewing Gum Task Force to tackle chewing gum littering in our boroughs," he said.

“In Camden we will use this funding to target areas that receive high footfall from non-residents, including tourists, students and those enjoying our vibrant night-time economy, such as by Camden tube station, Camden High Street and nearby roads, improving the local environment for both residents and visitors.

“We will also be working towards changing people’s future behaviour on the issue of gum litter in the Camden Town area through an accompanying education campaign.”

Environment secretary George Eustice said: “Littering blights our towns and costs taxpayers money. Working with responsible gum manufacturers, we are now giving councils extra help to clean up our cities and towns.

“This means we can double down on regenerating our high streets, boosting local economies and levelling up communities across the country.”

Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, chief executive of Keep Britain Tidy, said it is an "exciting new opportunity" to tackle the ongoing problem of gum pollution.

“The grants will allow councils to clean up historic gum litter staining in our towns and cities, as well as taking action to prevent people littering in the first place,” she said.