Residents in deprived neighbourhoods are getting lower standards of street cleaning and refuse collection services than residents in more affluent areas, according to research for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

The report points out that this situation is in spite of the greater range and severity of problems they face, particularly regarding graffiti, litter, fly-tipping, and poorly maintained public spaces.

Deprived neighbourhoods, with hard to look after features such as high-rise buildings and large open spaces, and higher than average population densities, are especially prone to environmental problems.

The study, by the University of Glasgow, found environmental services staff working in deprived neighbourhoods were overwhelmed by persistently high levels of rubbish and litter. This undermines the quality of their work.

In contrast, in neighbourhoods with fewer problems, staff were better able to work effectively and knew that shoddy work was likely to be reported.

The research, based on a survey of 49 local authorities and detailed work in 4 areas, shows responsible residents living in deprived neighbourhoods, who might previously have been motivated to take good care of their surroundings, losing heart when environmental problems went unresolved.

The researchers recommend that councils should routinely target enhanced services, such as more frequent street cleaning, to deprived neighbourhoods. Such an approach can re-energise residents and help kick-start further improvements, they suggest.

"The problems of dirty streets can be fixed more easily than other problems," pointed out report co-author Annette Hastings. "All it takes is the recognition by services managers that services need to be designed and deployed to meet the specific needs of deprived neighbourhoods."