ONE of the region's councils has denied having the dirtiest streets in the country.

Despite reports yesterday, Stockton Borough Council said it did not top the list of worst councils for street cleaning in an Audit Commission report.

The report said just 54.7 per cent of Stockton's streets reached an "acceptable" standard.

The amount of litter and filth on the streets of the borough outweighs that in run-down inner cities and the poorest areas of Britain.

The figures are based on samples taken last March, but some local authorities did not submit their figures for analysis.

Simon Dale, assistant director of housing and contract services for Stockton council, said: "We acknowledge that this was a particularly bad year for us, but we have taken steps to ensure that the service will be vastly improved in future.

"As a result of our recognition of poor performance, the Best Value review of this service was brought forward and hit squads were piloted across the borough - propelling current performance figures to around 83 per cent."

The council also said it topped polls for business rate collection, library users and social services clients receiving a statement of needs.