HE's cheaper to buy than a roadsweeper, gets in places where no brush can reach and will happily take nothing but Mars bars in payment.

Meet Charlie Brown, the latest weapon in the fight to keep Barnoldswick tidy.

Without any training, the two-year-old Staffordshire Bull Terrier fetches litter for his owner and town warden Ian Kirkbride, picking up cans, bottles and cartons before placing them in a neat pile.

The wannabe Womble is an invaluable assistant to the council employee, who spends a lot of his time keeping Barnoldswick town centre tidy and rubbish- free.

Mr Kirkbride, who has been the town warden for the past 10 years, said: "He just started doing it after watching me working, so I gave him a few treats and he's carried on ever since.

"As long as he's in the mood, he'll pick up bottles and cans, have a little play with them and then make a pile of them, always in the same corner. He saves me a lot of effort."

He added: "Lots of people know him and come over to say hello.

"He does a good job of keeping the pigeons out of the square as well."

Though the muscular mutt weighs in at three-and-a-half stones, "Staffies" are renowned for their good temperament and Charlie is no exception.

And rather than coming from the sidekick of cartoon character Snoopy, Charlie's title arises from a visit to the vets when he needed a surname to register and took that of Mr Kirkbride's partner Christine Brown.

Suspecting a premature April Fool, Barnoldswick Town Council vice-chairman Jenny Purcell, who has been campaigning to clean up the town, thought the tale of Charlie Brown was a "load of rubbish" when first contacted by the Craven Herald.

However, when shown photographic evidence she applauded the canine cleanser and said: "It just goes to show, if dogs have the brains to do it then human beings should have the brains to do it as well!"

Coun Purcell added that Pendle Borough Council had vastly improved street cleaning and refuse collections in recent weeks.

She said: "I don't think I've ever seen the town looking so clean."