A religious group has joined the fray to open a holy front in the war on litter.

The Bradford Council of Mosques is behind a £70,000 scheme aimed at rallying members of the community to clean-up two of the city's dirtiest areas.

Two litter monitors are to be employed to take the propaganda battle to schools, mosques and churches, and to devise strategies to keep the roads of Horton Grange and Great Horton clear of rubbish.

Street wardens, who will become the equivalent of Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinators, will also be appointed.

Mohammed Saleem Khan, centre manager for the Bradford Council of Mosques, said it is time to defeat the scourge of litter once and for all.

"Bradford has a massive problem with litter and Horton Grange is one of the worst-hit areas in the entire city," he said.

"We want to unite people of different faiths in a bid to clean up our community.

"Through schools, mosques and churches we can send a stronger message and put some pride back into our communities."

The two-year scheme, entitled Keep It Clean, has been funded by Billaward, a multi-million pound environmental fund, and Transco.

The Council of Mosques successfully bid for a Lattice Award for Social and Environmental Regenera-tion, which is a new scheme to fund innovative recycling projects.

Organisers say that if the project is a success it could spread to other areas of the city.

Bradford Council and the Bradford Environmental Action Trust are supporting the campaign.

Director of Waste Management, Richard Wixey, gave news of the campaign a warm welcome.

He said: "We've given our backing to this bid in the past, as it aims to raise awareness of the need to take personal responsibility for the cleanliness of the environment.

"Keep It Clean is just the kind of scheme which will help make a clean district become a reality.

"It will engage with the community and enable people to work together to restore local pride."

Ruth Thompson, director of Transco North of England, said: "We aim to encourage better use of existing schemes along with the development of new ones."