Italy Berlusconi makes a clean sweep in Naples 08/08/08 08:12 CET

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been doing his bit to clean up the streets of Naples as part of a drive to end the city’s rubbish crisis.

In a demonstration of his concern over what he has called a national emergency, he picked up litter and lectured onlookers.

“The streets shoud be an extension of your house,” he told the watching throng before grabbing a street sweeper’s wheelie bin.

Waste disposal has long been a chronic problem for Italy’s third largest city.

Official dumps were declared full last year, creating a backlog of refuse which piled up in the streets, deterring tourists and causing a health scare.

Berlusconi’s emergency plan to solve the rubbish crisis in Naples has included mobilising the army to prevent emergency landfill sites in the area being picketed by angry local residents.