YORK'S major employers and retailers are being called upon to help keep the city's streets clear of litter, chewing gum and cigarette ends.

The plea comes from City of York Council and York Business Pride, urging more than 600 employers to examine the amenities for rubbish disposal they provide for their employees and customers.

Businesses are also asked to consider sponsoring designated litter, chewing gum or cigarette bins in the city.

Every year Street Scene, the council's cleaning contractor, spends more than £1 million on cleaning York's streets.

Russell Stone, street scene manager, said: "We have a duty to ensure that our streets are always looking clean and tidy.

"If businesses made it easier for their customers and staff to dispose of cigarette ends and chewing gum responsibly, this would go a long way towards further improving standards."

Since April, the council has been issuing fixed penalty littering fines, with the majority issued as £50 on-the-spot fines for dropping cigarette ends.

Jackie Armitage, street environment manager, said: "Even though we have been giving out free portable ashtrays to help smokers, some people do not associate cigarette ends with litter and this can result in smokers dropping butts, without considering it to be an offence at all."

In fact, a 2003 study by the Keep Britain Tidy Group found cigarette ends to be the major cause of litter in Britain's cities.

Philip Turpin, of Keep Britain Tidy, said: "Cigarette ends make the place look a mess and give visitors a bad impression of our city. It's not a good advert for local businesses either. Smokers must be more responsible, they should stub their cigarettes out and use a bin."

Mr Turpin also highlighted the fire hazard posed by discarded cigarette ends, pointing out that they are the cause of 40 per cent of all outdoor fires.

Adam Sinclair, chairman of the York Business Pride board, said a clean business and living environment would benefit everyone in York.

He said: "We support all means of eliminating cigarette ends and other refuse from our city at street level, and businesses can play a huge part in tackling this problem."

Updated: 10:26 Thursday, October 28, 2004