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BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - Bridgeport officials say it's time to get tough on gum control.

A downtown improvement agency is deploying a new weapon in its battle against wads of discarded chewing gum: a GumBuster, a device they first spotted on an episode of the Discovery Channel's "Dirty Jobs" series.

As one of Connecticut's poorest cities, however, Bridgeport couldn't swallow the distributor's $6,200 asking price for a new GumBuster, generator and other accessories.

Instead, the Bridgeport Downtown Special Services District snagged the machine for $1,300 on the online eBay auction site, bought a $300 generator at Home Depot and quickly got down to the business of unsticking the sticky stuff.

They say it's about as easy as, well - walking and chewing gum at the same time.

Workers spray steam over the wads to loosen them, then dissolve the rest with a solution of soap and water and scrape up the residue.