Lack of lorry parks blamed for litter in lay-bys

Volunteer litter pickers say they are fighting a losing battle against the amount of rubbish left in lay-bys.

The North Leicestershire Wombles have said the rubbish beside the A453, which includes human excrement, food waste and a discarded duvet, is fairly typical of a lay-by on their patch.

The authorities are in dispute over who is responsible for clearing the mess, which has been blamed on a lack of facilities for lorry drivers and can often reappear hours after it is cleared.

North West Leicestershire is the worst area in England for dedicated lorry driver parking, according to research, external commissioned by National Highways, which says it is investing in better facilities.

Volunteer litter picker Carly Hosker cleared plastic bottles containing urine from the waste left on grass verges beside the A453 lay-by during a visit by the BBC.

She also highlighted a plastic bag full of human excrement hanging from a nearby tree above a slope strewn with other discarded waste.

Ms Hosker said they had cleared more than 1,000 bags of rubbish from the lay-by and the one on the opposite side of the road over the past four years.

"Looking at this mess is really depressing," she added. "But unfortunately it is like this everywhere you go, in every lay-by. Although Leicestershire is particularly bad."

The North Leicestershire Wombles have not cleared the lay-by next to the A453 near Castle Donington for nine months and say they need more support from the authorities.

"Originally we were told that it was the district council's responsibility," Ms Hosker said.

"But they then passed the buck to National Highways. I think there's a bit of battle over who's actually going to take ownership of it."

Paul Sanders, head of community services at North West Leicestershire District Council, said the authority's workers cleared litter from the paved area of the lay-by twice a week, but the rubbish was often back within hours.

"It's just an endless task," he added.

"It transpired that this highway, and the slopes and lay-bys, is not adopted as a public highway which means the only people responsible for that area are National Highways.

"That's between the lawyers at the moment and the ball's in their court."

The council has installed hidden cameras to try to catch offenders, but say gathering the evidence to prosecute has proved difficult.

Mr Sanders said he agreed with the view that a lack of facilities for HGV drivers had contributed to the problem.

"We're doing our best as a district council," he said. "But somebody needs to tackle this on a national basis because these lay-bys - wherever you go - it's the same thing, isn't it?"

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) has been campaigning, external for more parking and better facilities for HGV drivers.

"Obviously we don't condone this sort of behaviour," said Ashton Cull, senior public affairs lead for the RHA.

"But there just are not enough facilities for drivers to use. They have no choice but to end up in these lay-bys."

He says drivers need safe, secure and well-maintained places to stop where they can take mandatory rest breaks.

Mr Cull claims district councils routinely refuse planning permission for lorry parks.

"Local opposition always ends up trumping the national need," he said. "North West Leicestershire can help by approving some lorry parking sites."

A spokesperson for National Highways confirmed it is currently in discussions with the district council about the situation on the A453.

"Littering is a social problem," said National Highways freight and roadside facilities principal advisor, Tim Holland.

"If people don't drop litter in the first place it wouldn't need to be picked up – so we urge road users to take their litter home," he said.

"We know that HGV drivers are the very backbone of our economy and it is essential that they are kept comfortable, safe and well.

"That is why we are investing £13m on improvements to lorry park facilities across the country, including £1.7m in the East Midlands, to give drivers the quality rest areas they need and deserve."

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