BCP council leader Drew Mellor has defended the authority’s latest anti-litter campaign which suggests a four-letter word, encouraging people to clean up after themselves.

Cllr Michael Brooke, Broadstone Lib Dem, says the campaign has caused offence and upset people in the area because of the nature of the messaging.

“There are 56 four-letter words ending in ‘it’, but only one words which fits all the different statements on the posters. That word begins with the letters ‘sh’.

“As a family person with young children does the leader regard the implied language used in this campaign as appropriate for a council which is promoting the area as a family destination?” he asked at this week’s full council meeting.

Council leader Drew Mellor said although he thought the question fair he backed the poster campaign.

“We need to find ways of saying to our whole community that littering is unacceptable. We’ve got an innovative campaign which has got some national credibility …what we are doing here is to talk to the small, small minority of people who don’t respond to more traditional campaigns.”

He said the council would welcome feedback on the campaign which is part of the council’s ‘summer response’ programme.