A hard-hitting poster campaign depicts towns in Oxfordshire drowning under a sea of cigarette butts.

Beautiful towns such as Banbury are portrayed dumped in giant ashtrays to highlight the problem of cigarette litter.

The striking campaign by Cherwell district council is already having an impact in reducing smoking litter.

Posters have gone up across north Oxfordshire featuring the slogan "It's your town - don't treat it like an ashtray".

The creative visuals are just one way that the council is tackling the problem.

As well as warning about fines for dropping cigarettes, Cherwell is offering several solutions too: Ashtrays have been attached to lamposts, there are more stubbing plates on bins and thousands of personal ashtrays have been distributed.

Dickie Felton from Keep Britain Tidy said: "Smoking litter makes our streets look disgusting. It's appalling to see streets strewn with cigarette ends. Not only do they look bad but they are very difficult for cleansing teams to pick up too.

"We are pleased that Cherwell is tackling this problem head-on. Not only is the council trying to educate and change behaviour of smokers who litter, it is also offering solutions too. With the new lampost ashtrays, stubbing plates and personal ashtrays in Cherwell, there really is no excuse for smokers. They need to use these bins and keep the area clean for everyone."

Councillor George Reynolds, Cherwell district council portfolio holder for environment, recreation and health, said: “From what out street cleaning crews are telling us, our scheme is having the desired effect. The lamppost ashtrays are obviously a welcome addition as they are very well used and we have given out more than 2,000 pouches.

“This is a fantastic start and we’d like to thank all those smokers who have made it so successful. Once others start to notice the difference, we think the effect will snowball.”

While the council is doing all it can to help smokers avoid littering, it is also clamping down on those who refuse to support its efforts.

The first fortnight of the scheme was a period of grace in which smokers caught throwing their cigarette ends on the floor were given warnings.

After that a total of 16 fixed-penalty notices were handed out – 11 in Banbury, four in Bicester and one in Kidlington.