Campaigners are calling for tougher measures to help keep communities tidy.

A report by Keep Scotland Beautiful has found that the most deprived communities are being hit worst by problems such as litter, graffiti and flytipping – and the gap in standards between them and the most affluent areas is widening.

The charity is calling for political leadership to reverse the decline in standards.

Derek Robertson, chief executive of Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: “As a country which places great emphasis on the quality of our environment, we are calling for national and local action to ensure we do not stand by and watch whilst standards continue to decline to the point of no return.”

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “We have treated local government very fairly, despite cuts to the Scottish budget from the UK Government, and it is up to them to allocate according to local needs.”