It isn't so long since we were carrying stories and readers' letters complaining about the state of the railway embankments on the approaches to Bradford. They were (and still are) a mess, strewn with litter and dumped household items. What a welcome to this city!

And now, it seems, it has become almost as bad on the main route into Bradford from the motorway network, the M606. Apparently the occupants of cars queuing to get off this busy road at the Staygate roundabout are whiling away the time by clearing out their cars, throwing away newspapers, plastic bags, food and drink containers and sweet papers as well as emptying their ashtrays.

As Councillor Jeanette Sunderland rightly says, this creates a terrible impression at a time when a great deal of money is being spent on improving the main gateways into the city.

There seems little point in appealing to the better nature of the people depositing this rubbish. That hasn't worked elsewhere in Bradford, which has far too many areas where the residents and those passing through seemingly couldn't care less what the place looks like.

If a clean-up can't come about by pride, it needs to be imposed by punishment. Councillor Sunderland is calling for cameras to be installed which would catch the culprits in the act, and for fines to be introduced.

CCTV cameras have been proved to work well as a deterrent in other areas, helping to reduce the amount of street crime. There is no reason why they should not do the same for M606 litter, helping to pay for themselves with the money raised through fines.