Broadland has been named as the cleanest place in the whole of Britain after inspectors carried out secret spot-checks in the district.

Broadland District Council won the overall national award in the 2010/11 Clean Britain Awards, as well as scooping gold in the districts category.

The district, which includes areas such as Sprowston, Hellesdon, Drayton, Thorpe St Andrew, Spixworth and Taverham, won the awards after anonymous inspections by judges from Clean Britain, which saw them looking at a string of key areas.

That included checks on general litter, chewing gum, smoking-related litter, fly-tipping, graffiti, how many litter bins are provided and what sort of state they are in.

Roger Foulger, portfolio holder for housing and environmental services at Broadland District Council, paid tribute to the efforts of the whole community to keep the district clean.

He said: 'We are delighted to have won this award on behalf of all our residents, parishes, officers and hard working operatives from our main service partner Veolia, who help make Broadland a clean and pleasant place to live.

'We believe the community has played a major role in helping us to achieve this prestigious award.

'We work closely with parishes, community groups and residents all year round to keep our area clean.'

He said the annual spring clean and community clear up programmes were examples of initiatives which contributed to Broadland's tidiness.

He added; 'The award gives national recognition to what people who live in Broadland already know - that we have a good environment and it's worth looking after.'

The awards, run every two years by the British Cleaning Council and the Chartered Institution of Waste Management (CIWM), were presented in Birmingham.

Steve Lee, chief executive of CIWM, said: 'The quality of our local environment contributes directly to our sense of wellbeing and civic pride and plays an important role in improving the economic prosperity of our towns, cities and rural districts.'

The only other local council to win an award was North Norfolk District Council, which picked up a bronze award in the districts category.