Why would a reporter walk through Leicester city centre dropping coke cans into flower beds and lobbing half-eaten McDonald’s burgers over his shoulder?

It must have been part of an experiment, of course!

As the Leicester Mercury’s anti-litter campaign Clean Up The Streets got underway, it sent feature writer Adam Wakelin onto the streets to find out how the public reacts to a litter lout.

His task was to drops cans, bottles and food anywhere but in the bin – but would anybody approach Adam to tell him to clean up his act?

Adam reported from his spree: “A smattering of gobsmacked stares and contemptuous glares greeted my messy antics but most passers-by didn’t even break stride, so commonplace are litterbugs like me in the city centre.

“They didn’t know it yet but this was gutter journalism – quite literally.

“Nearly three hours muck-spreading in Gallowtree and Humberstone Gates later and not a single person had picked me up on it.”

Adam decided to tackle some of the public who seemingly ignored his litter throwing antics, and discovered most were too scared to approach him.

American Andrew Davis told Adam: “It really bugs me to see people dropping trash. It kind of shows a lack of respect.

“I didn’t say anything because you were behaving like a jerk. If I had, you might have got really mad and all of a sudden I’m the bad guy.”

Adam said: “It is easy to understand how my behaviour could be seen as threatening – I might have felt the same in a similar situation.

“But I only began garbage grandstanding because more subtle attempts at dumping provoked no reaction.

“Even then, most younger people simply smirked or said nothing. Only pensioners really proved prepared to put their heads above the parapet.

“I have to admit, seeing gawps of amazement as I theatrically dished the dirt did give me a frisson of guilty pleasure.

“Much less fun was picking it all back up. Perhaps all litterbugs like me should all be made to get their hands dirty. It would make them think twice.”

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