The Telegraph & Argus today launches a major new campaign aimed at tackling the litter problems which blight Bradford.

Rubbish-strewn streets, illegal fly-tipping and the untidy appearance of the main routes in and out of the city are among the greatest concerns of our readers.

We hope our Bin It For Bradford campaign will encourage everyone to take more pride in our district and help clean up our streets.

Of course, Bradford Council has a huge role to play in helping to keep the district clean and it is looking at new ways of cracking down on the biggest offenders when it comes to littering our streets.

But each and every man, woman and child living in the district can do his or her bit too.

The T&A wants to play its part by encouraging all our readers to take responsibility for keeping our streets clean.

That includes everything from urging people not to drop litter in the first place to sharing with our readers the fantastic community efforts which have helped to transform run-down areas of the district.

We'll also be highlighting the difference people can make to the environment by making choices about what they do with the rubbish they do throw away.

Over the coming weeks we hope to inspire people across the district to take renewed pride in their surroundings and show you that everyone can play their part in Bin It for Bradford.

If you're concerned about litter in your community, then you could organise your own Bin It for Bradford clean-up.

All the equipment you need to do this will be provided by Bradford Council.

Alternatively, if there's a street or area of waste ground in the district where you think litter or dumped rubbish is a problem, then you can provide us with the details and they will be passed to Bradford Council.

Inside tonight's T&A, you'll find a special eight-page supplement which tells you everything you need to know about the scale of the challenge we all face when it comes to tackling litter.

And, on page eight of that supplement, you'll find the forms you need to fill if you want to organise a clean-up or highlight a grot-spot.

T&A Editor Perry Austin-Clarke said: "Time and again in survey after survey our readers make it clear that the untidy state of Bradford is one of their biggest concerns and one of the issues that does most to affect people's image of the city.

"There are many things Bradford has to be proud of - and we want the appearance of the district to be one of them. We can't let litter let us down.

"Bin It for Bradford is a campaign which every single one of our readers can take part in and we hope people get behind us tackle the problem of rubbish on our streets."

Council and business leaders have welcomed our Bin It for Bradford campaign as another tool to fight the war on litter.

Lord Mayor Allan Hillary said his message to the people of Bradford was "pick it up, put it in the bin or take it home".

"Litter runs the city down. If places look untidy people build up a philosophy that it doesn't matter," he said.

"There has been so much effort put in to refurbish and regenerate Bradford, and it is such a simple task of picking litter up and taking care of it, with no cost involved."

And Sandy Needham, chief executive of Bradford Chamber of Commerce, added: "Some problems in life are difficult to deal with, but litter isn't one of those. Too many people blame the local authority for the state of our streets.

"If everyone were to dispose of their rubbish properly then we would have a more attractive place in which to live and work. The Bin It for Bradford campaign makes sense, we would encourage everyone to support it."

Councillor Anne Hawksworth, executive member for the environment, added her support.

"It is essential that we get the message over to people and educate them that any rubbish is not the council's rubbish, but theirs.

"The council has to pick it up and the cost of that has a big impact on the council tax."

The Council's Director of environmental protection and waste management, Richard Wixey, said: "I do hope people get on board because we have got to improve the cleanliness of the district by stopping litter being dropped in the first place.

"I would encourage people to be aware of the amount of rubbish they create and do positive things with it - recycling or composting and preferably generating less."

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