As part of the borough's FLAG - Fighting Litter And Graffiti - campaign, low pressure steam cleaning units will use high degrees of heat to remove old pieces of chewing from the streets.

It comes as a national group prepares to launch a campaign urging people not to drop gum on the streets.

Doncaster Council is one of 15 local authorities selected by Keep Britain Tidy's Chewing Gum Action Group to receive free advertising for the Bin don't Sin campaign. Mayor Martin Winter said: "Making Doncaster an ever better place to live has always been my total aim.

"Once trodden in, chewing gum is extremely difficult and costly to remove as well as making our pavements look dirty.

"We are delighted to have received this support from the Chewing Gum Action Group to help our ongoing efforts to rid our streets of gum.

"We hope this campaign will make people think about spitting or dropping gum as unacceptable and raise awareness of the problems it causes."

Council bosses hope the campaign will dramatically change the way the town centre looks.

Dickie Felton, from Keep Britain Tidy, said: "We think it's brilliant that Doncaster is supporting The Big Tidy Up and has been so vocal on the subject of litter.

"Nationwide we already have 1,500 tidy-ups planned for September and that number is set to grow and grow."

People who spit their gum out onto the street could receive a £75 fixed penalty notice from the council.

This is the third year the Chewing Gum Action Group, made up of Government and industry representatives, has provided support.

Last year's campaigns resulted in local authorities recording an average reduction in chewing gum litter of nearly 60 per cent.

The chewing gum industry has committed an annual sum of £700,000 to the action group.

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