A campaign to clean up the district will start this weekend and Silsden and Steeton will be two of the first places targeted for "The Big Sweep".

The Big Sweep is Bradford Council's largest ever clean-up campaign and Silsden and Steeton will get the once over on Sunday, when mechanical sweepers, litter pickers, dog wardens and council officers will tackle problems such as graffiti and chewing gum.

Householders will receive leaflets before each event, outlining the work being done, and information leaflets will be given out at the end of the clean-up to inform people about how to dispose of rubbish properly and how to report fly-tipping and dog fouling to the council.

Councillor Anne Hawkesworth, the executive member for the environment, said: "We have asked each community to identify problems in their area for us to tackle. We cannot do everything but what we can do is make a visible difference to an area by tackling the main problems.

"We want people to be proud of the place where they live and feel it is a safe, clean and green environment.

"We can do our bit but it is up to the community to keep their area clean, dispose of their waste responsibly and report people who blight the area with fly-tipping and dog fouling."

The council is set to tackle as many issues as it can that have been raised by parish councils and community groups in surveys sent out last month.

Altogether the Big Sweep will involve clean-up activities in 45 areas of the district, ranging from full-scale community clean-ups to targeted work cleaning up problem "grot-spots".

In some areas the council will be employing staff to provide face to face contact with residents offering advice on disposing of rubbish and keeping their area clean.