TWO Bromsgrove gumbusters are putting pressure on the district council to take a fresh look at cleaning up the town.

Jess Shakespeare and Trevor Hurley want to use their steam clean machine to sweep the streets free of sticky patches made by people dropping chewing gum.

Bromsgrove District Council has so far turned down the idea - but is now set to chew the problem over again.

"Personally, I can't stand to see gum all over the pavement," said Jess, aged 49, of Birmingham Road, Lydiate Ash. "I started up the business because it's a pet hate and it upsets me most here because this is where I live. I don't know what visitors must think."

Jess, a former car transporter driver, and Trevor, who owns M & T Minicabs in Bromsgrove, formed Gumtec 12 months ago and work all over the country from Penrith to Land's End, taking in Drayton Manor Park on the way. Back home, they see the problem getting worse.

"On a scale of one to ten, Bromsgrove is an eight and that's pretty dirty," said Trevor, 45, of Woodrow Lane, Lydiate Ash.

The pair invested £30,000 in their machine, which they also use for industrial cleaning, removing graffiti or private contracts such as cleaning driveways.

They approached McDonald's in High Street to arrange a demonstration this week and took 40 minutes to steam-clean the area outside at a cost of £35.

"It's very impressive," said restaurant manager Alistair Rowlands. "I was reluctant at first because I thought it would be too expensive but now I've seen the results I'll be having it cleaned every three months."

Trevor said he wasn't surprised that the area outside eating places was usually bad for discarded gum but the worst areas by far were outside women's clothes shops.

"All those sticky patches you see on the pavement are caused by chewing gum," he said. "Seventy five per cent of gum ends up on the floor. It's litter and it's up to the council to clean litter. If you don't keep on top of this problem, it just gets worse and worse."

Jess added that Droitwich has the streets steam cleaned regularly, as do Kidderminster, Evesham and Pershore. Worcester city council has its own machine.

"Public awareness is growing and people are getting fed up with the mess. I think Bromsgrove should just take the bull by the horns and tackle it," said Trevor.

John Moody, head of technical services, said he estimated it would cost about £40,000 to clean the whole pedestrianised area in town.

"Three months after it's been cleaned, it's covered in chewing gum again. I'd need to be convinced it's a long term solution," he said, and added that McDonald's may not be allowed to keep on cleaning up on their own doorstep as the area is owned by the council.

Councillor Margaret Oliver, (Con - Hagley) cabinet member for environmental health, said the council would definitely take a fresh look at the problem.

"We've given a great deal of consideration to litter but I think everyone realises the chewing gum problem is getting worse," she said.

"We will be discussing it and may look at the possibility of an education campaign along the lines of dog fouling. It's just as anti-social."

She said the council did not have the cash this year but may consider a one-off clean to persuade people not to keep messing up the streets.