Shropshire couple collect 100 bags of roadside rubbish

Mr Jones, an osteopath and acupuncturist, posts details of where the couple will be litter-picking on Facebook

A couple have collected 100 bags of rubbish from a Shropshire roadside in a month.

Imogen and Samuel Jones, from Ludlow, felt compelled to start litter-picking on Sundays after noticing the mess while driving on the A49.

In just four weeks the volunteers have removed entire sacks of waste, empty bottles and several dead creatures.

"The sheer volume of it is huge," Mrs Jones said. "Every single crisp packet you pick up is one crisp packet less."

Imogen and husband Samuel started collecting verge-side waste at the weekend a month ago

"It's really addictive and even though you know you can't solve the entire problem because it's too massive, for two hours every Sunday morning it's quite meditative," she added.

Mrs Jones, who binds and restores books, said the couple would like to see more people out picking litter but were not looking to create a formal group.

"Last week we had another four people helping us and the area that we managed to do... was huge compared to when it was just my husband and I," she said.

"If everybody just, every time you go out for a walk take a bag with you," she said. "People like us are all over the country, I think we can probably make a difference."

The couple take the litter to the Craven Arms skip in their van

She would like to see a government-led campaign to educate "thoughtless" people who drop litter, and for organisations to sign up to Keep Britain Tidy's spring clean.

"For as long as the vegetation doesn't start overtaking the rubbish, I think we'll just carry on doing a little bit every [Sunday] morning," she said.