A CIGARETTE butt character alighted in St Helens town centre to dish out free portable ashtrays and reminding shoppers of a campaign launched by the Council last month to tackle the problem of cigarette litter.

The Together - We Can' campaign aims to reduce the amount of cigarette litter across the borough. Nationally, a staggering 122 tonnes of cigarette litter is dumped across the UK every day and this could worsen when the smoke free legislation in enclosed public spaces comes into force on July 1. Fixed Penalty Notices of £75 can be issued to anyone caught dropping cigarette litter on the streets.

Council environmental officers teamed up with NHS Support Stop Smoking advisors to take the campaign to local supermarkets where free portable ashtrays (butt pouches) were available, some containing tickets to win a prize.

The Council's campaign is supported by the NHS Support Stop Smoking service and supermarkets Asda, Morrisons and Tesco which sponsored the prizes.