A MYSTERY group which has put up posters and created a spoof website mocking Manchester's 100-day clean-up campaign has been condemned by council bosses.

The secret organisation has fly-posted stickers on billboards and bus stops in the city centre with an "Up Yours" message to the town hall blitz on litter louts and other environmental offenders.

The group has hijacked the council's Challenge Manchester logo and re-branded it as "100 days to a mean and grey city".

Using a sophisticated website, copying the official council website's design from last year, the site satirises the clampdown on environmental and anti-social crimes as a "poorly thought out waste of money".

A fake press release on the website says: "The overarching theme this year will be making more money for us - your council and our favourite corporate partners.

"While at the same time having a jolly good bash at dirty homeless people, bored teenagers, graffiti artists and in fact anyone on the streets who might damage our attempts to sell more real estate to developers of luxury flats.

"That's right, once again it's time to ignore the real issues affecting the residents of this city (like record levels of car pollution and the increasing gap between rich and poor) and instead focus on things that curtain-twitching potential Labour voters worry themselves about, like dog s*** and other people who don't look like them."

The website also attacks "yuppie" city centre dwellers, street wardens, Stagecoach buses, the British army and the council's drive to tackle homelessness. The site does not publish contact details for the creators or reveal any other clues to the identity of the organisation.

In last year's clean-up, more than 1,000 fines were imposed on environmental nuisances, ranging from people dropping litter to those allowing their dogs to foul in public.

The council's efforts saw Manchester being shortlisted for the title of Britain's cleanest city - to be decided next month - with this year's clean-up focusing on anti-social behaviour, rowdy neighbours and overgrown gardens.

Coun Paul Murphy, the council's direct services boss called the group cowardly and anarchic and has vowed to prosecute anyone caught putting up the organisation's posters.

He said: "What people have got to understand is that we are attempting to clean up Manchester to a world class city standard. If people feel that agenda threatens liberty or we are being killjoys then I disagree profoundly.

"These people are environmental terrorists and we would be ankle deep in litter if it were left to them. I challenge them to show themselves and share a public platform as they don't speak for the residents of Manchester."

The clean-up campaign runs until May 24.