Litter in hedgerows and verges on the busiest high-speed roads across Bath and North East Somerset is being tackled in a seven-week clean-up operation.

Bath & North East Somerset Council’s cleansing teams will pick up unnecessary rubbish thrown from vehicles onto verges of A and B roads in a blitz starting this week.

Traffic management will be in place as the teams clean up more than 150 miles of verges at a cost of £18,000 to the Council.

Last year crews collected more than 188 bags of unnecessary waste weighing in at 3.5 tonnes, the equivalent of a light goods vehicle.

Councillor David Wood, joint cabinet member for Neighbourhood Services and Climate Emergency, said: “The rubbish in our hedgerows and verges is completely unnecessary and is only there because of people’s carelessness. Litter is not only an eyesore but damages the environment and wildlife too.”

For more information on the litter picking schedule for 2021, visit the BANES website.