Council crews pick up FOUR TONNES of litter people threw out of cars on A5 in Milton Keynes

A litter clearing exercise has produced a mammoth four tonnes of rubbish from just one stretch of road in Milton Keynes.

MK Council sent crews out at nights to pick up litter and debris hurled out of cars by people travelling along the part of the A5 that runs through the borough.

The move was instigated by city Alderman and former councillor Paul Barlett, who had noticed the roadside was in "a sorry state".

Paul said: "A few weeks ago, I contacted the Director of Environmental Services at MK Council and raised concerns. I also quoted the need to clean up the A5 under the terms of the Environmental Protection Act (EPA).

"In essence, this gave the council a maximum of seven days to clean up the A5. The road is the responsibility of Highways England and MKC acts as its agent in MK."

The council published photos of clean-up crews working in the dark, along with an announcement about the volume of litter collect.

They are now urging people in cars to take their rubbish home with them rather than throw it out of the window.

Meanwhile Alderman Paul is planning to pinpoint more litter-strewn roads that need action under the Environment Protection Act.

"In the past, by quoting the EPA, I have had the whole length of the M25, huge sections of the M1, M45, M6, A1M and others cleared," he said.

Paul said anyone can raise issues and use the EPA as their reference point. Seven days is the maximum time given for local authorities to clean up. For some refuse, such as needles and glass it is 24 hours.