A GALASHIELS councillor has written to both sides of the Old Firm in bid to tackle the town's 'sticker epidemic'.

Euan Jardine (Cons), who is Scottish Borders Council's executive member for culture and sport, says he is fed up of seeing the mostly football-related images plastered over road signs.

And in a bid to try and stamp out the problem, he has written to both Celtic FC and Rangers FC for help with the problem.

He told us: "These stickers are offensive and harm the image of Gala.

"I cannot imagine what visitors must think when they visit our lovely town for the first time and see these uninviting stickers plastered all over it.

"They are everywhere from lampposts to road signs. Some are so bad that they are obscuring signs, which is clearly an issue for road safety."

While Cllr Jardine says the majority are football related, some promote violence and political messages.

And he says the trend is becoming increasingly costly for the local authority to sort out.

He added: "I understand the clubs don’t sell the stickers but I don't think they can ignore the issue.

"This damages the reputation of both clubs. I am all for people passionately supporting a team but there are other ways to show your love of football.

"I also do not believe it is right for local councils to keep footing the bill to remove these stickers.

"A middle ground must be met between the teams and the local authority.

"We need to work together to give this problem a red card once and for all."