The busiest streets were found to be the dirtiest

Council managers' failure to listen to residents' concerns and to equip street cleaners with the tools for the job are said to be to blame.

The report from Keep Britain Tidy said the areas that suffered most included busy town centre precincts and the region's deprived neighbourhoods.

They say council chiefs must prioritise cleaning to resolve the problem.

'Residents' concerns'

The report also said that sick, urine, chewing gum and oil are leaving streets badly stained.

And about 70% of the South East's poorer neighbourhoods were described as '"below par".

Angela Howard, the regional director of Keep Britain Tidy, says litter has serious implications for the region.

She said: "The South East may be losing out on visitors because some council managers don't plan properly, listen to their residents' concerns, or equip their street cleaners with the tools for the job."

However there was some good news for the region - it was commended for quick removal of leaf fall and of easily visible fly-tipping, fly posting and graffiti.

It was also "satisfactory" at removing weeds.

But Mrs Howard says councils have to prioritise cleaning and pay more attention to detail to get the South East up to scratch.

Dartford was one town criticised in the findings and in response the borough's council said the comments have to be taken seriously.

Jeremy Kite, deputy leader of Dartford Council, said: "A lot is sometimes people's perception of how they view their town, but if they view it as dirty, we have to do something about it.

"There is no point being defensive about it, we need to work with Keep Britain Tidy and roll out our own programme and make the town centre right for everybody."