Chewing gum ban...

[Kintyre Forum News]

Calls for a chewing gum ban in Oban....

CHEWING gum could be banned in a Highland town by locals sick of looking at the mess.

Louts who can’t be bothered to find a bin have made Oban’s streets an eyesore.

Now, the Argyll town’s shopkeepers are trying to turn it into the first place in the UK to ban the sale of gum.

The Oban and Lorn Touri s t Association have called for a by-law to be created.

Spokesman Paul Sloan said £50 onthe-spot fines for offenders had failed to make any impact.

Mr Sloan, 41, said: “ You can’t change the people who spit gum out on the street so a ban is the solution. No one will drive 40 miles for a packet of chewing gum. “Ithas been done in other countries.” Argyll and Bute Council said existing legislation meant a new bylaw was not necessary.

Instead their “gum-buster” machine will be brought out again to clean the streets.

A spokeswoman said: “It has not been out since last summer because business owners raised concerns about splashing their shop frontages.”