Council chiefs are encouraging residents to cut down on fizzy drinks throughout February.

Schools and individuals are being asked to sign up to the ‘Sugar Smart’ campaign and pledge to reduce their sugar intake.

Tower Hamlets has one of the highest rates of childhood obesity in the UK, with 20.8 per cent of children aged four to five being overweight or obese.

John Biggs, mayor of Tower Hamlets said: “Reducing sugar in our diets is something we all need to work on and cutting out fizzy drinks is a great first step.

This month is an opportunity to challenge the serious health implications that come with drinking too much sugar.

In particular, we all want children to have the healthiest start to life as possible.”

Tooth decay is a leading cause of hospitalisation among five to nine year-olds in the UK, according to the charity Action on Sugar.

Numbers from the charity show 26,000 are hospitalised for tooth decay each year, meaning about 500 per week.