NIGHTCLUBS risk hefty fines after Bolton Council ordered a crackdown on advertising which leaves pavements awash with leaflets.

Club owners and managers received visits last Friday night from council officers who warned them they will be held responsible for the hundreds of "flyers" thrown on to pavements by revellers on Friday and Saturday nights.

They could risk a fine of up to £1,000 if many of their flyers are found on pavements in the morning. The flyers are handed out at night to try to entice customers into the town's dozens of bars.

Anyone who is handed a flyer and is then caught dropping it on the pavement also risks being handed a £50 fixed penalty notice.

Last Friday, council enforcement officers joined police on the latest in a round of visits to bars and clubs and collected dozens of flyers found on pavements.

Each venue will receive a letter from the council's environmental education and enforcement team warning them of the clubs' responsibility to keep the streets clean.

A council spokesman said they were trying to set up a scheme which would involve clubs picking up flyers before the end of the night.

"The mess caused by hundreds of flyers left all over the pavements at the end of the night is a nightmare for the people who have to clean up," he said.

Bar owners today said they would be happy to help keep streets tidy. Andy Johnson, manager of J2 in Nelson Square, said: "At the end of the day, it's in our interest to help keep the streets clean and tidy because it helps attract people to the town centre."

Barry Grundy, assistant manager of Diamonds lap dancing club in Manor Street, said: "We're always happy to support anything the council wants us to do to make sure the town centre attracts more people."

A spokesman for Luminar Lesiure, which runs Ikon nightclub in Bridge Street, said: "We already have measures in place. Flyers are routinely picked up from outside the club on a nightly basis and this is something we are very stringent on"

Dozens of fast food outlets were also visited by council officers and reminded of their responsibility to make sure that the fronts of their shops are free from food packaging before they close.