LITTER is the biggest nightmare for council house tenants in Swindon.

The blight of drinks cans, crisp packets and other rubbish has been identified as a problem by 75 per cent of respondents to a council survey, published this week.

The result is identical to a similar survey carried out in 2000, and suggests the council has a long way to go before tenants are satisfied with the state of their streets.

Yesterday residents of Groundwell in north Swindon, who are not council tenants, decided to take direct action to clear up the area.

Arming themselves with black bin liners and gloves, provided by the council, about 25 people took part in a litter-picking event in Farmer Crescent and Carter Close.

"Litter is something that particularly bothers residents," said organiser Terri Yewkins. "It doesn't just look untidy but spoils the area.

"It also increases the rat population, which is currently about 60 million in the UK."

Lisa Hume, 30, a resident of Carter Close, was one of those taking part in the clean up, along with her two daughters.

"People thoughtlessly drop litter and it's always somebody else who picks it up," she said.

"It's caused by a small majority of litter bugs and often it's children.

"The council could do more but it's a big problem and we need to educate people not to drop it in the first place."

As well as litter, the major bugbears identified by council tenants include vandalism and graffiti, which take second and third place in the council's league of perceived problems.

Progress has been made in dealing with dogs' mess, as 47 per cent feel it is a problem compared with 54 per cent in 2000/01.

But noisy neighbours are a growing concern, with 44 per cent highlighting it as a problem, up from 35 per cent four years' ago.

Other results found 72 per cent of tenants are satisfied with the overall service provided by the council the same result as the previous survey in 2000/01.

But only 51 per cent are satisfied with the opportunities for getting involved with decision making about their housing down from 54 per cent in 2000/01.

A random sample of 1,400 tenants was questioned in August and September last year.

Les Hosegood, head of landlord services for Swindon Council, said: "We are taking on board the results of this survey and working towards providing a clean safe environment is one of our top priorities."