IT COMES as little surprise that the number of complaints about litter in Blaenau Gwent has risen.

Not that we think Blaenau Gwent is spectacularly worse than everywhere else when it comes to this issue.

But because as we have been saying for several months now the amount of littering and fly-tipping seen across Gwent and Wales is getting beyond a joke.

For a country that aims to be a build on an already strong reputation as a tourist attraction, as well as being an attractive place for people to live and work, this does need to be tackled head on.

It is about time that we had a national strategy for dealing with littering if only to focus the minds of those in charge at the Assembly.

Many local authorities are doing their bit and trying different ways of getting to grips with this unsightly problem and we commend them for that.

Monmouthshire recently revealed a public available strategy.

But we think the time is now right for a national approach which would treat it as the crime that it is.

Fines are one way of potentially deterring people from dropping litter. But as the Blaenau Gwent experience has shown action has to be consistent for it to have any lasting effect.