However, a few years ago the powers-that-be wiped out the country's population of lollipop ladies and traffic wardens.

Instead, a brand new army of school crossing patrollers and civil enforcement officers was ushered in, and anyone who dared to refer to their previous incarnations was given short shrift.

The change, unsurprisingly, didn't catch on with the public, but the floodgates had been opened and soon official documents were peppered with meaningless phrases from "stakeholder engagements" to "multi-agency approaches".

For a while it seemed like there was no way back to that simpler age, but with the news Harrow Council in London has banned its staff from uttering incomprehensible jargon, the fight against political correctness has just been given a welcome and unexpected boost.

The radical move came after the council asked a panel of local people about their experiences of dealing with their employees and, instead of putting the results in a file marked "to do", they decided that perhaps the public might actually know best after all.

Under the new common sense guidelines, civic amenity sites will now be referred to as rubbish tips, controlled parking zones will be called permit parking or double yellow lines and the place that used to be known mysteriously as the public realm will now be identified as streets, parks and pavements.

"Our residents want to hear plain speaking and that is what we'll deliver," said Coun Paul Osborn, who also pledged the council would answer phone calls within 30 seconds, acknowledge emails within 24 hours and make sure people who go to council buildings are seen within 15 minutes. "We are now working to ensure that council terms, which can include all sorts of baffling acronyms, don't get used when we talk to the public.

"Every organisation uses jargon to some degree, but we know that councils have been among the worst offenders in the past."

However, Mr Osborn and the rest of Harrow Council will have to wait for a pat on the back from the Plain English Campaign, which has seen similar worthy initiatives fail to take off.

"More and more people are becoming frustrated with the attacks on our language," says Chrissie Maher, who founded the organisation 30 years ago. "While council offices like Harrow and others declare they will take on board plain English, the use of jargon is endemic and it is difficult to turn back the clock.

"The worst examples are often local government job descriptions which require an expert to interpret them. There was one recently which said: 'traditional spatial analysis is embedded with our analysts and we wish to extend into quantitative techniques such as spatial statistics and spatial modelling'. What on earth does that mean?"

Recent stories about the rise of poor grammar and spelling in schools and universities has prompted the Plain English Campaign to launch a series of free training sessions for young people, but they admit the future looks bleak.

"Schools are disregarding spelling tests because they might leave children with a sense of failure," adds Chrissie. "But all it means is after a year in school some still can't spell their names.

"The fact that some university professors don't consider good spelling to be a high priority and examining bodies mark papers inconsistently, it becomes clear language anarchy is increasing at an alarming rate."

Next month, campaigners will launch the Plain English Charter calling for legislation to ensure information presented to the public is clear and direct, but even they admit they are facing an uphill battle.

"Academics as well as leaders of government, commerce and industry are failing to raise the bar and would rather lower standards and encourage
apathy in the gobbledygook that hides their own failings," says Chrissie. "Jargon helps to breed cynicism and if those in positions of influence really want to engage with the public they have to learn to speak to them directly.

"The rot has already set in, but we are determined to get our message through."