Despite being cheap to buy and quick to chomp on, chewing gum leaves an expensive and time-consuming mess to clean up after if it is not discarded properly.
Like in any big city, Bristol's pavements are dotted with the sticky splodges, despite the commendable efforts of street cleaners working to prise the shoe-trodden gunk off the ground.
One Bristol resident, who became fed up of dodging the mess during a visit to Bath, has now shamed those who are "spoiling our beautiful cities" by mindlessly spitting out their gum.
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The letter was published in the Bristol Post last week, and was signed off by a P Collins. The reader, who "couldn't believe" how many pieces of gum there were in Bath, predicted that the mess would put off tourists from returning.
The letter read in full: "There is an alternative to computer games. It requires no expensive equipment or electricity supply from a battery or the mains.
"It costs nothing to play and all, young or old, can play it with equal chance of success, although there are no prizes. I discovered it on a recent visit to Bath but no doubt you can play it in other cities as well.
"‘What am I on about?’ I hear you ask. Well, remember the game we played as children that involved walking without stepping on the cracks in the pavement?
"It’s a bit like that but the object is not to step on the many pieces of discarded chewing gum that other people with no respect for our environment or hygiene have spit out of their mouths, no doubt full of germs, and left as an unsightly mess to spoil our beautiful cities and deter tourists from coming again.
"There are thousands of these blobs all over the pavements and it is almost impossible not to step on them. I couldn’t believe how many of them there are and I would suggest that anyone starting a career could do worse than getting involved with the manufacture or sale of this item.
"Perhaps there is another game that I am unaware of. Perhaps there is a contest to see who can chew and discard the most chewing gum in a set time.
"The city council is doing its best to clear it all up but it is a difficult and expensive job as well as almost impossible due to the sheer volume and the unpleasant nature of the stuff. So to the hundreds, if not thousands of people, who thoughtlessly dispose of their chewing gum in this way, please don’t do it."
Bristol City Council runs a campaign called Clean Streets Enforcement, sending out environmental enforcement officers to patrol the city to "cut down on environmental crime and increase environmental awareness".
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Dropping litter, including chewing gum and cigarette butts, is among the offences they look out for - and they can issue an on-the-spot fine for anyone caught in the act.
The fine is £100, reduced to £65 if paid within 10 days. The council's guidance states: "If an enforcement officer sees you commit an environmental crime they’ll ask for your name and address so they can issue you with a Fixed Penalty Notice.
"If you refuse to give your details, the officer will be able to use the information they’ve recorded on their body cameras. This information is often enough to identify someone.
"If you refused to give your details, you may be taken to court and given a much larger fine of up to £2,500 for the environmental crime."
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