Milton Keynes set to become the first town in Britain to BAN chewing gum

Anyone caught chewing gum in the town would face an on-the-spot fine



It is aimed at cutting the cost of removing gum trodden into pavements

The Singapore-style ban is being proposed by businesses in the area

Traders found 22 pieces of gum in just one square foot of pavement



Disgusting: A chewing gum ban could be introduced in Milton Keynes

Milton Keynes is set to become the first town in Britain to introduce a Singapore-style ban on chewing gum.

Anyone caught chewing gum would face an on-the-spot fine under the proposal, which was drawn up after 22 pieces of discarded gum were found in just one square foot of pavement.

Those in favour of introducing the ban point to the cost of removing gum, the nuisance caused by it sticking to people's shoes and the eyesore it creates.

The proposal has been put forward by After8, a group of businesses in the Buckinghamshire town, which plans to lobby the council to adopt it as policy.

The group wants resident to give their views on the plans as it looks to boost its case with the local authority.

After8 spokeswoman Carmel Blyth said it can cost up to 10p to remove a single piece of gum trodden into the pavement, which includes paying for the chemicals and manpower.



She said it is also unsightly, and added: 'Cleaning this mess up is an impossible task, it is costly and takes time, not to mention unpleasant.

'We are also trying to get the message across the people to be considerate. I is a problem in central Milton Keynes but I also think it is a nationwide problem.'

Chewing gum has been banned in Singapore for around 20 years, but the authorities made an exception for those with doctors prescriptions in 2004.

Clean: The pavements of Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire could soon be chewing gum free

The strict ban on selling, importing or manufacturing gum was brought in by the city state's founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, who was fed-up with the litter.

Vandals were also reported to have been leaving used gum in keyholes and mail boxes as well as on buttons inside lifts.

Anyone caught breaking the ban by chewing gum can be fined but not, as has often been claimed, sentenced to corporal punishment.

Smugglers face a stiffer penalty, up to a year in prison and a fine equivalent to around £10,000.

Lee Kuan Yew once responded to criticism that banning gum stifled creativity because people could not concentrate,by saying: 'If you can't think because you can't chew, try a banana.'

Costly: Removing a single piece of chewing gum trodden into the pavement can cost up to 10p

Milton Keynes council leader, Andrew Geary, said the borough could not make any commitments on bringing in such a ban in the town but was open to suggestions.

He added: 'This is the kind of thing where we say if people want to come to us with proposal then we are quite prepared to listen. The difficulty with this will be how easy is it to enforce.



'I don't perceive gum to be a massive problem from what I have seen but if other people do and there are areas where evidence clearly shows that it is, then we are quite prepared to listen.'

But Sian O'Keefe, corporate affairs manager for Wrigley UK, said such a ban would be unfair.

She added: 'The only effective and sustainable solution to littered gum is to encourage people to dispose of their used gum responsibly.



Outlawed: The city state of Singapore where chewing gum has been made for more than 20 years

'Tackling the problem of littered gum is something that we take extremely seriously. We promote good gum disposal messages via packaging, point of sale and other communication materials which are regularly seen by millions of our consumers every day.



'We also fund a number of great campaigns that aim to encourage responsible litter disposal including our Bin it! schools programme and the annual Chewing Gum Action Group campaign, which has seen significant reductions in gum litter in the areas where it has been in place.



'We believe these campaigns are a more effective way to address the issue rather than imposing bans or taxes that would unfairly punish regular chewers, the vast majority of whom dispose of their gum responsibly.'



Last year, painter Ben Wilson found a novel way of dealing with the unsightly come covering the streets of east London.

