Thousands of 'wish it wasn't here' postcards are the latest unlikely weapon in the war to defeat north Norfolk litterbugs.

The postcards are being given to householders, businesses and town and parish councils to help environmental police to pinpoint problem areas.

People who are fed up with offenders dropping litter or failing to clean up after their dogs can post the cards to North Norfolk District Council – and wait for the officers to drop in and deal with it.

Although north Norfolk is one of the cleanest districts in Norfolk, litter still makes plenty of places unsightly – and sparks anger.

The postcards will feature images of waste including bottles, cans and cigarette butts – which people do not always consider to be litter.

Mark Whitmore, environmental protection team leader at NNDC, said the aim was to 'empower' people to make a difference to 'problem areas'.

He said: 'The district is pretty clean. We want to keep it that way. We've been doing quite a lot over the last few years and this is another logical step forward.

'We want to focus on areas that are bad, where there's a lot of dog fouling or litter. It gives people a chance to send a postcard and invite us to come and have a look.'

The cigarette postcard is captioned 'This is litter too'. Over the past year the NNDC environmental protection team has issued more fines for cigarette litter than any other type.

Mr Whitmore said there were a number of other methods to track down and deal with offenders.

'For a couple of years we've been patrolling areas and talking to people, which has worked well for littering. Officers from the environmental protection team go out in high-visibility T-shirts.

'If talking to and trying to encourage people doesn't make a difference we can put up hotspot signs and even put in temporary CCTV so that people can see what we are doing.

'We also offer a chance to pay an �80 fixed penalty notice. You don't need too many people to drop litter or not clear up after their dog for it to become an issue.'