It is absolutely right that Bradford environmental health officers are cracking down on takeaways and the huge volume of litter they generate on the streets by making an example of some of the worst offenders in a "zero tolerance" campaign.

Quite often, especially after a busy night, the streets around many of these businesses look like a battle-zone strewn with rubbish - unfinished food, polystyrene cartons, drinks cans, wrappings, plastic and paper cups and paper bags - which tends to get kicked and blown around and spread over a wide area.

By definition, these businesses depend on people walking in off the street and quickly acquiring a meal which is then consumed off the premises. The nature of fast food means that it is eaten while the customer strolls away slowly or sits in a car outside. Too many of them then don't bother to look for a receptacle for the rubbish.

It is perfectly fair and reasonable that businesses which make their profits out of generating what eventually becomes litter should take responsibility for the mess they instigate and be taken to task for failing to keep the area around their premises clean.

Strewn-around rubbish significantly lowers the tone of an area. Common sense should dictate that it's damaging not only for nearby businesses but also for those which generate the litter.

But when all is said and done, the problem will not be solved no matter how many bins the Council provides or how heavily they come down on businesses until the individuals who consume the meals take responsibility for their actions and the anti-social detritus they create.