Plans to remove chewing gum that ‘blights’ the streets of West Devon are underway thanks to a £20,000 grant.

West Devon and South Hams Councils are set to receive the £23,590 grant from the Chewing Gum Task Force who are administered by the charity Keep Britain Tidy.

The task force is funded by major gum manufacturers including Mars Wrigley and Perfetti Van Melle, with an investment of up to £10 million spread over five years.

Cllr Christopher West, West Devon lead member for climate change and biodiversity, said: “We’re grateful to the Chewing Gum Task Force for this continued support. It’s a positive way for the industry to help solve the littering issue that it creates.

“Many towns and cities are affected by people dropping chewing gum and we hope that the street cleaning this grant covers will act as a reminder to people that our streets look much nicer without litter like chewing gum.”

In its third year the task force awarded 54 councils grants worth a total of £1.585 million, helping clean an estimated 500,000m2 of pavements.

Last November, the gum-busting machine hit the streets of Tavistock thanks to the Chewing Gum Task Force grant.

In its third year the task force awarded 54 councils grants worth a total of £1.585 million, helping clean an estimated 500,000m2 of pavements.

Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, Keep Britain Tidy’s chief executive, said: “Chewing gum continues to be an unsightly form of litter in our public spaces – though thankfully the scheme is leading to significant reductions. People need to remember that disposing irresponsibly of their gum causes harm to our environment as it takes years to decompose naturally – and, ultimately, costs the public purse to clean it up.”