Large, brightly coloured items of litter act as a magnet for more rubbish, a new study suggests.

New research from the charity Keep Britain Tidy has revealed large bits of rubbish, such as crisp packets or bottles, act as a ‘beacon’ for litter, giving people permission to drop their rubbish.

The research, published today in the inaugural edition of the charity’s Journal of Litter and Environmental Quality, was based on an experiment assessing people’s reactions to seeing different types of litter on the ground.

Three areas in two locations – Stourbridge in the West Midlands and Stoke Newington in north-east London - were cleared of litter.

‘Beacon’ items were then placed in one location and other smaller litter items were placed in another. A third was left clear as a control group.

The sites were then monitored to see how people behaved and how much litter accumulated. The experiment was repeated six times over two weeks, with a total of 72 hours of observations monitoring taking place.

In the places where the ‘beacons of litter’ were present, the proportion of people who littered their rubbish was 35%. In the areas where the smaller items were placed, that fell to 22% and in the control the percentage who littered was 17%.

The research also showed people were more likely to drop ‘beacon’ items if other ‘beacons’ were already present. Where ‘beacons’ were present, 41% of people observed dropped drinks containers, plastic bags and other such items.

This fell to just 11% in the second area and 10% in the control.

‘This research has important implications for those tasked with keep our country clean,’ said Keep Britain Tidy chief executive Allison Ogden-Newton.

‘If we can remove these ‘beacons of litter’ from the environment, there is evidence here to show that it could help reduce overall levels of littering and reduce costs.’