Officers at the council are fed up with junk mail. The council receives more than 100 pieces of unsolicited mail a day; more than 3,000 a month and 36,500 a year. The junk mail includes marketing material and sales brochures "that no one in the council has asked for or is interested in."

In the last couple of weeks more than 150 companies have been asked to take the council off its mailing list, and those that send unsolicited mail are having the items returned to them.

Councillor Paul Rigby, whose responsibilities cover finance and efficiency, said: "I could not believe the amount of junk mail that is sent to the council every day. It must cost these companies a fortune to produce and send some of the glossy brochures that are just put straight in the recycling bins.

"Everything possible is being done to stop junk mail getting to the council in the first place so that the staff don't have to spend time distributing and disposing of it."

Officers at the council have estimated that hundreds of man-hours will be saved each year if they can put a stop to all the junk mail.