Londoners are being warned to use bins or face consequences

The study said that in the last three years there has been a rise in the amount of junk food packaging, sweet wrappers and cans left on its streets.

But flyposting, flytipping and graffiti had declined slightly since last year.

The East of England received the highest marks for cleanliness and the South East came second in the study which scoured 12,000 sites in England.

'Individual responsibility'

Each region was given a score out of 100.

REGIONAL RATINGS AND SCORES 1. East of England - 72 2. South East - 63 3. West Midlands - 62 4. South West - 60 4. East Midlands - 60 4. North West - 60 7. Yorkshire - 58 8. North East - 57 9. London - 43

Keep Britain Tidy director Justin Jupp warned Londoners to use the bin to dispose of their litter or face the consequences.

"If we want tourists to continue to come to London, then every single resident must get rid of their rubbish properly," he said.

"The fact that 91% of the litter we found had just been dropped by pedestrians shows that it is no good pointing fingers at councils, government and other people - it's a lack of individual responsibility that has created this mess and it must stop."

But the 2003/4 study found there had been an improvement in the condition of London's pavements which were now much easier to clean.

The Local Environmental Quality Survey of England graded areas, from high rise estates to industrial estates, on how clean or dirty they were.

Each site examined was given a good, satisfactory, unsatisfactory or poor grade.