Tax dodgers in the UK are costing the public millions of pounds a year and a new campaign from HM Revenue & Customs is attempting to get the public to assist in catching them.

The televised appeal to Brits will call on people to ring a confidential hotline and report anyone they suspect of failing to pay their taxes.

The £1.7 million campaign is the first televised appeal by the HMRC, though the agency claims that previous print and radio adverts have led to a surge in people reporting tax dodgers.

The advert will air for the first time during the break in ITV1 soap Coronation Street on Wednesday night.

It features a workman in a pub boasting about not paying taxes, cutting corners and not giving his customers receipts.

HMRC chairman, Sir David Varney, commented: "By far the majority of people are honest taxpayers, but there is a minority out there who refuse to pay their way. People who don't pay affect us all, and turning a blind eye only reinforces their behaviour.”

Sir David warned anyone failing to comply with tax rules to get up-to-date immediately and insisted that HMRC would assist them in doing so.