HUNTINGDONSHIRE has the cleanest streets in the region and the 37th cleanest in the country. Figures released by the Audit Commission for the year 2004/05, and ranked by the GMB Britain s public sector union, were supplied by 339 UK local authorities. Th

HUNTINGDONSHIRE has the cleanest streets in the region and the 37th cleanest in the country.

Figures released by the Audit Commission for the year 2004/05, and ranked by the GMB Britain's public sector union, were supplied by 339 UK local authorities.

They placed Huntingdonshire among the cleanest districts and found only seven per cent of its streets were considered dirty - up from last year's three per cent.

Councillor Mike Simpson, deputy leader of Huntingdonshire District Council, said: "It costs £1million a year to keep Huntingdonshire streets clean and we are very proud of the quality of cleaning throughout the district which is amongst the best anywhere.

"The cleanness of our streets is down to having the right equipment, the right amount of money to invest and having people who actually care about the streets keeping them clean."

And work is also taking place to ensure the public keep litter off the streets.

Cllr Simpson said: "We are going to encourage litter education in schools to discourage youngsters from littering the streets. We are also going to continue to work with town, parishes and local community groups to help them keep their areas clean by providing advice and assistance.

"Furthermore, we are currently setting up a new enforcement section to enable us to make use of the legal powers provided under the Clean Neighbourhoods Act 2005 to deal with persistent offenders."

Rose Conroy, GMB East Anglia spokeswoman, said: "Huntingdonshire local authorities should be very pleased with their excellent result. It shows their commitment to keeping their streets clean and I'm sure they are among some of the cleanest streets in the country."

The research found South Cambridgeshire had the region's dirtiest streets, with 35 per cent of them classed as being dirty.

The report highlighted Craven, Sevenoaks and West Dorset as having spotless streets and West Devon as having the dirtiest streets in the country.

Ed Blissett, GMB East of England regional secretary, said: "Keeping an area clean is conducive to building up a sense of social responsibility and a feelgood factor. Seeing an area uncared for has the opposite effect.

"This survey shows that there is room for improvement in many areas.