Fast food litter has dropped more than 40 per cent after a campaign to tackle rubbish.

Councils, McDonalds, KFC, Dominos, the Highways Agency and RP2 Media launched Love Essex in the summer.

Environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, which reviewed the campaign, said there was a 21 per cent overall drop in litter and a 41 per cent fall in branded fast food litter.

Braintree Council cabinet member Wendy Schmitt said: “This is the first time a campaign of this type has been run and the message throughout has been very clear.

"Street cleansing alone costs taxpayers over £17 million a year in Essex, money which could be better spent."

Cherry Lewis-Taylor, a McDonald’s franchisee in charge of the branch at Galleys Corner, Braintree, said: “I hope that we continue to see the amount of litter in the area decrease and would encourage people to carry on disposing of their litter responsibly."