ANTI-LITTER campaigners in Dorchester are bidding to stub out mess caused by people dropping cigarette butts in the county town.

Members of Dorchester’s Stop the Drop group have been out in South Street handing out personal cigarette butt disposers and warning people about the fines for littering.

The eight volunteers from the campaign gave away a total of 160 of the plastic, non-flammable butt bins that were worth £40 each.

Stop the Drop chairman Bob Kerr said: “It was highly successful for us and by and large we had a very warm response.

“The whole idea is we want smokers to be more responsible and not just drop their butts on the ground.

“Cigarette butts are still the most prevalent form of litter, especially since the ban on smoking in public buildings.”

Among those to join the volunteers were new Mayor of Dorchester Susie Hosford and Town Crier Alistair Chisholm.

The campaign has received funding from the Dorchester BID and the Campaign to Protect Rural England and has also put up more than 40 steel cigarette butt bins on the walls outside local businesses.

Mr Kerr said the group’s funding had dried up following their latest handout, but they would continue to spread their message and raise funds so they can continue their work.

Stop the Drop has also been involved with educating children at local schools.

Members meet once a month to discuss their progress and future campaigns.

Mr Kerr said: “We are gradually getting more members, it’s not a big group but it’s active and we make things happen.

“We don’t go round picking up litter, we encourage the enforcement of litter legislation and it’s an educational programme about getting people to become more responsible.”

Anyone interested in joining the Stop the Drop group can email bobkerr@talktalk.net