'A12 litterbugs are heinous slobs' - councillor

More than half a tonne of rubbish was collected during a litter pick on the A12

A councillor has criticised "heinous slobs" who have dumped more than half a tonne of rubbish next to a busy road.

Martin Goss spoke out after a 10-hour overnight litter-pick along the A12 between Colchester and Marks Tey in Essex.

Colchester City Council said six members of staff collected the rubbish in April.

Mr Goss, the council's head of waste, said the major road was in "a real mess".

The A12 was closed by National Highways so the litter pickers could clear slip roads between junctions 25 and 27 without being at risk.

The team sent out for the litter-pick retrieved 680kg (107st) of rubbish.

Colchester councillor Martin Goss criticised people who have dumped litter

Mr Goss said the issues seen in the Colchester borough were just a fraction of a wider problem on the route.

"It’s always the minority who screw things up for people," he told BBC Essex.

"It’s those lazy slobs that throw McDonald’s wrappers out of cars, dump things in lay-bys, and they are just heinous slobs.

"I just don’t get the mentality of people who do it."

'We've got to do more'

Local authorities have a statutory duty to collect litter and carry out kerbside sweeping on many trunk roads in Essex.

Colchester City Council said it did not receive additional funding for this duty.

The authority drafted in officers from its waste investigations support and enforcement services teams last spring to help tackle litter.

Mr Goss claimed hundreds of people were being fined for littering in the city every month.

"We’ve got to do more fines and really go after people in Colchester," he added.