'It is time to get Britain tidy' says Tom Brake MP

5.45.23pm BST (GMT +0100) Sun 28th Sep 2008

Writer Bill Bryson is getting MPs such as Tom Brake (left) onside for his anti-litter campaign

Local MP for Carshalton and Wallington Tom Brake is pledging his support to the 'Stop the Drop' campaign, organised by CPRE, the Campaign to Protect Rural England. The campaign aims to Get Britain tidy and to tackle the litter and fly-tipping problem.

According to CPRE's statistics, littering has increased by 500% since 1960s. And Councils reported 2.6 million incidences of fly-tipping in 2006-07. This corresponds to an increase of 5% compared with the previous year's figures.

'It is time to say enough is enough. The littering has got to stop and we need to get Britain tidy' said Tom.

At first glance, this fight seems to be less important compared with the main environmental challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss. But litter and fly-tipping are an important source of environmental pollution and harm human health.

Tom will be signing a parliament pledge about the 'Stop the drop campaign' when parliament returns next week.

He is also writing to the Rt. Hon Hilary Benn MP - Secretary of State for the Environment - in order to maintain the pressure on the government to deliver new solutions for tackling this worsening problem.

Tom added 'we need strong leadership at a national level combined with local action to get this under control'.

Tom is urging people to get involved in this campaign. People can join the campaign online on the Stop the Drop's website - http://www.litteraction.org.uk -.