Britain's litter problem has as much to do with Middle England as it does with mindless thugs. Those who claim to be good citizens are quite prepared to drop rubbish if they're driving, drunk or when they think there's no one watching.

These are the amazing findings of a major report published today by Keep Britain Tidy into how those who are responsible and law-abiding view the issue of litter. Questioning people from all backgrounds, the study simply wanted to know how big respondents thought the problem was, how it could be cured and how often they themselves used a bin.

Almost all felt there was a litter problem in this country and that this was caused by factors such as laziness, apathy, councils not cleaning up and poor parental control. But even though they felt littering was morally wrong, nearly all admitted to dropping rubbish especially when driving "because you'll never get caught", when at a football match or big event, "because someone else will clean it up", when the neighbourhood is littered already or when they're drunk - "because you don't think about it."

High on the list of items dropped were smaller pieces of junk like apple cores and cigarette butts. Sweeping these up contributes greatly to the annual bill of £413 million that all of us fork out to keep Britain tidy.

Respondents to the survey were bracketed into five categories dependent on their attitude to litter. These were:

- The Beautifully Behaved - young parents, who claimed to be concerned about litter and blamed teenagers for causing a mess.

- Captain Cross - older people who blamed the young and thought things were much better in the past.

- The Blamer - who felt councils, manufacturers and fast food joints created the most rubbish.

- The Justifier - those who felt that everyone else littered - especially cigarettes - so why shouldn't they? And...

- Life's Too Short - a group who were too busy to care too much about an issue like litter.

Careful studies were also made of respondent's lifestyles - such as what newspapers they read, what their hobbies were and whether or not they had Internet access - so Keep Britain Tidy could best reach this section of the public with their messages.

The consensus of opinion was that Britain needed a major hard-hitting television ad campaign using shock statistics and focusing on the consequences of littering. Respondents also felt that if more people were prosecuted for dropping rubbish and CCTV cameras and litter wardens were very visible - the problem would diminish.

Keep Britain Tidy's Marketing Director Sue Nelson sad: "These findings prove just how much work we have to do to change attitudes even among those who profess to being responsible members of society. At least we are now armed with the research required to best reach these people. We know their habits and how they tick, which means we'll be able to speak to them in their language. Frankly, we must engage those who proudly describe themselves as good people, if we are to have any hope of reaching the rest of society - and that process starts now."