NATIONAL Highways has called for drivers to keep Cornwall’s roadsides clear of rubbish ahead of the upcoming holiday season.

With increasing numbers of traffic expected to head to the South West’s roads for the coming holiday season, National Highways is urging drivers to keep the region’s roads clear of litter.

National Highways has reported that its teams have just collected close to five tonnes of litter from roads in the South West, as part of the Great British Spring Clean effort earlier in the spring.

It is the tenth year National Highways has supported Keep Britain Tidy’s campaign and the company, responsible for the country’s motorways, also carried out a recent study which revealed that 65 per cent of drivers who admit to littering have discarded food and drink waste on the roadside, and this scale of this has been shown following the organisation’s recent cleanup event.

During the Great British Spring Clean, National Highways’ contractors collected 670 bags of litter from its motorways, the A417/A419 routes in Gloucestershire and Wiltshire and the A35 in Dorset, weighing around at 7kg a bag, the total was equivalent to 4,700kg or 4.7 tonnes.

And across the last year, contractors have collected a total of 5,760 bags of litter from the south west’s motorways – the M5, M4, M49, M32 and M48.

With the scale of the littering, National Highways has now installed a new range of anti-litter signage along National Highways’ roads and motorway service areas at Michaelwood, Gloucester, Gordano and Taunton Deane along the M5, Leigh Delamere on the M4 and other litter hot-spots in recent weeks.

Following the Great British Spring Clean purge and with the Whitsun Week and summer holidays around the corner, the company is calling  for all drivers to do their bit to help reduce litter levels in the region.

Andrew Gale, South West service manager for National Highways has said that keeping on top of roadside litter is a constant battle.

He explained: “Litter is a huge issue and while it was good to be involved in the Great British Spring Clean, it’s an everyday activity for our contractors, keeping on top of the litter blight.”

While for many the site of litter is enough to put them off, Mr Gale also explained that the rubbish can cause a safety hazard for those working at the side of the road.

He continued: “Roadside litter is not just unsightly but it’s a threat to wildlife and the environment and it can also be a safety hazard for drivers, can block drains and picking it up puts roadworkers at risk.

“We appreciate a lot of people like to visit our beautiful part of the world, particularly during the summer months – and our advice to drivers is clear: don’t drop litter.

“Please use any bins provided in laybys, heed the signage, and keep a bag in your car to store litter until you can dispose of it responsibly.”