MORE hard-hitting posters featuring fat dripping from a cigarette are adorning billboards in Worcestershire in a bid to encourage smokers to ditch the habit.

The overwhelming success of the British Heart Foundation's ''Give Up Before You Clog Up'' campaign launched in March has prompted the Government to provide an extra £1m to fund a second wave of the iconic posters across England.

Hundreds are plastered on prominent roadside billboards until Saturday, May 15, across the county in the hope they will deter more people from smoking.

Both the poster and TV adverts were designed to create an emotive image of the link between cigarettes and fat-filled arteries - serving as a distasteful reminder of the dangers of smoking.

An incredible 83 per cent of smokers surveyed following the launch of the campaign said the adverts made them think again about stopping smoking.

Thousands sought help to quit the habit that kills more than 115,000 people in the UK every year, and of the 12,500 who called the BHF helpline, 46 per cent gave up smoking.

The campaign was intended to primarily target those who have regularly tried to quit smoking, aged between 30 to 50, but health officials claim it had a much wider impact on all smokers.

Betty McBride, regional spokeswoman for the BHF, said: "This campaign has broken the mould of anti-smoking advertising.

"Its effectiveness has been recognised by the Department of Health and, once again, it has put its money where it knows it will work hard.

"We are grateful for this and we are confident that, from this second phase onwards, we can lead the charge against smoking and help thousands more smokers to quit."

She said the unprecedented success of the campaign indicates that smokers who were previously immune to anti-smoking advertising have responded to the Give Up Before You Clog Up campaign in droves.

Smokers wanting to give up should call the BHF helpline on 0800 169 1900 or visit the anti-smoking website bhf.org.uk/smoking for further information and advice.