A NEW litter education pack put together by a Teesside council has won the backing of Environment Minister Michael Meacher.

A delegation from Stockton Borough Council took a trip to London to meet the minister and officially launch the pack, which has been produced for use in primary schools, initially across Stockton, but which could be adopted by local authorities and schools across the country.

The group included teacher Ann Martland and two pupils from St Mark's Elm Tree Primary School - Thomas Whittaker and Callum Patton - together with Stockton South MP Dari Taylor and the council's litter education officer.

The pack, which forms part of the Council's Care for Your Area campaign to clean up the borough, provides information and resources centred around environmental issues which primary school teachers can use in literacy and numeracy issues.

Mr Meacher told the group: "Litter is detrimental to our quality of life and costs local authorities valuable resources in clearing it up.

"The presence of litter will often encourage the development of other environmental crimes, such as graffiti and fly-tipping, which, taken together, ruin the quality of the local environment and make many residents uncomfortable and ashamed about the areas in which they live."

Janet Appleby, headteacher of St Mark's Elm Tree school, said: "The school is delighted to be one of the first to benefit from such a resource.

"The information, lesson plans and advice that are included within the Litter Education Pack are an excellent opportunity for the school to build upon the ethos that looking after the environment is just one of the ways our pupils are able to become responsible, caring and informed local and global citizens."