London's Royal Parks face 'unprecedented' amount of litter

The Royal Parks have warned that the abandoned waste can be dangerous for wild animals

People have left the equivalent weight of 20 double decker buses of litter in London's Royal Parks during a month of lockdown, it has been revealed.

Staff collected 258.4 tonnes of litter with picnic items, face masks, office furniture and even a Christmas tree being among the items abandoned.

About a third more rubbish was dumped in the eight parks during June compared to the same month last year.

The Royal Parks said they had seen "unprecedented levels of litter".

"We've never seen anything like this before," the charity's director Tom Jarvis added.

A stag was spotted in Richmond Park with an inner tube stuck in its antlers

Other items left during the lockdown have included plastic bags, pizza boxes and glass bottles, with the amount increasing on warm evenings and over sunny weekends.

Richmond Park, Hyde Park, Bushy Park, Greenwich Park and Kensington Gardens have all seen a huge increase.

However, there has been a slight fall in waste left in St James' Park, The Green Park and The Regent's Park, which The Royal Parks said has been due to fewer office workers and tourists visiting.

The charity has warned that while litter is unsightly for other users, it is also dangerous for animals living in the spaces.

On Friday, a stag was spotted in Richmond Park with an inner tube stuck in its antlers.

A spokeswoman for the charity said it will remove the inner tube when it sees the stag again.

A total of 196.02 tonnes of litter was collected by staff in 2019

Mr Jarvis said it had been "truly fantastic to see more people enjoying our parks... [but] the downside is the litter."

"We fear the worst is yet to come, with another spell of hot weather on the way," he said.

The charity has launched a Summer of Kindness campaign to call on people to either take rubbish home with them or put it in the bin.