THE streets of Hartlepool are the cleanest they have ever been thanks to wheelie bins and teams of cleaners.

Tests devised by the Tidy Britain Group are carried out on a random sample of streets throughout the town every six weeks.

Since last year, the town centre has seen its biggest improvement in cleanliness, with 87 per cent of streets reaching an acceptable level.

Only one per cent of streets in the area was deemed unacceptable, compared to 28 per cent last year.

The council bought two purpose-built wagons to clean the narrow back streets in the town centre, and it is believed these have helped keep the area tidy.

In the north of the town 90 per cent of streets were acceptable, with 82 per cent in the south.

Denise Ogden, Hartlepool Borough Council's environment manager, said: "We are pleased with these statistics but we are determined not to become complacent.

"Families will soon see a fundamental change in the street cleaning service with the introduction of new highway and pedestrian mechanical sweepers.

"Residents can also do their bit by getting involved in the Pride in Hartlepool campaign, which aims to improve the town's environment."