PENDLE'S roads and back streets are getting cleaner and street sweepers are becoming more effective in their battle against litter, according to a survey.

The council's annual litter survey showed the authority is cleaning up its act when it comes to keeping local streets pristine.

The 1997 survey follows changes to street cleaning to ensure most of the borough's roads were swept within 24 hours of a dustbin round.

A report to the authority's services committee, which meets on Tuesday, says: "Although the change in method of street cleansing is still in its early days an improvement in the overall cleanliness of the borough is apparent."

The survey looked at 332 sites, a video recording was taken and the site was graded according to how clean it was, from Grade A where there was no litter to Grade D where the site was heavily littered.

Overall the "cleanliness index" for the whole borough rose by six points to 71 thanks mainly to an improvement in cleaning up the worst eyesore sites.

The litter crackdown meant every area in Pendle saw some improvement in cleanliness with Barrowford and Pendleside top of the litter-free league. Nelson, with its tightly packed terraced streets, was bottom of the league but it saw improvements as well.

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