The owners of mucky premises in run-down Leeds Road are being encouraged to join in a massive clean-up bid in the area.

The Leeds Road Clean Up Campaign is a joint effort between Bradford Council, local traders and residents and the Bradford Community Environment Project.

It aims to combat the major problems of litter and fly tipping on Leeds Road - a busy route into the city, with a multicultural community and scores of thriving small businesses.

Campaigners are currently holding out a carrot to traders in the form of free collection of large items of junk and extra litter bins - but warn they may later resort to the "stick" of enforcement action.

Nasrina Malik, co-ordinator of the Leeds Road project, is an environmental health officer at Bradford Council.

She said: "The environment in Leeds Road is very, very poor and we are concentrating on the most dilapidated bit, nearest the city centre.

"We are encouraging people to take care of their own premises and the Council's cleansing department is helping, but in future it may mean enforcement."

Local people got involved in a community clear-up day on Saturday which brought together traders from premises in the main road and residents in the Sewell Road estate.

As well as litter, the area suffers badly from fly tipping on waste ground and in the backyards behind shops. Some traders also illegally burn their waste instead of paying for it to be collected, Ms Malik said.

The Leeds Road project has led to the setting up of a group providing a new voice for traders in the area, called the Leeds Road Vision.

And members of the group plan to set up a Business Watch crime prevention initiative.

Shazia Raqib, whose family runs S R Carpets and Furniture in Leeds Road, is supporting the clean-up drive.

She said: "The main problem is image. People travelling from Leeds come into Bradford and it looks so dirty, old and undeveloped. We need to educate people."

l Information on the Leeds Road Vision group is available from Nasrina on (01274) 754165.