Local authorities are being urged to take the small steps necessary to clean up streets in England and rid them of increasing amounts of litter and chewing gum.

A survey out this week found a 27 per cent reduction in dog fouling over the last year, while concerns over the amount of litter rose by 12 per cent. Up to 94 per cent of sites measured in city centres were found to have chewing gum on the floor.

Despite this fact, the Local Environmental Quality Survey of England found 40 per cent of assessed sites good or satisfactory, 54 per cent unsatisfactory, and 6 per cent poor.

Problems like litter, graffiti, vandalism and fly-tipping are considered to be the key local environmental and anti-social behaviour issues faced by communities.

Local environmental quality Minister Alun Michael urged local authorities to make the simple changes to bring all areas up to the satisfactory standard. The report found that councils do not need extra resources to improve the situation.

Mr Michael said: "Some local authorities have made great progress in tackling graffiti, fly-tipping and improving public spaces. But there is much more to do to make our parks and streets places we can be proud of. We are already taking action to reclaim our green spaces for the benefit of the whole community."

The Government's £89m Liveability Fund is piloting projects in 27 local authority areas to improve the local environment, through better public service delivery. Steps are also being taken to deal with dog fouling and chewing gum disposal. Successful pilots of a fast food industry voluntary code of practice saw a 20 per cent reduction in litter.

The Government also announced today steps to combat fly-tipping - a crime that costs £150m a year. Under the proposals repeat offenders could be fined up to £50,000.

Mr Michael said the Government is committed to addressing fly-tipping: "By doing so we can bring about a significant improvement in the quality of our public space and the quality of peoples lives."