East Sussex residents unhappy with 'disproportionate amounts' of litter being left on the streets

Roger Nutkins took photos of a large amount of litter scattered on the verges of the A27 roundabout leading into Lewes, generating a lot of debate on social media.

Locals believe much of the rubbish is being blowed off onto the road from recycling lorries and blamed the council for not enforcing the requirement that these lorries should be covered.

Roger said: “Lewes District Council has the third highest council tax in the country and like to trumpet their green credentials. Unfortunately this does not seem to include clearing litter which is their legal obligation.”

East Sussex County Council are responsible for the maintenance of the roads in the Lewes District and many took to Nextdoor to call on the local authorities to do more to keep Lewes clean.

One wrote: “It’s absolutely disgusting that area.”

Another said: “Litter looks terrible; but far worse is the state of our roads now with formidable potholes that are hazardous and damaging.”

A third person added: “The whole stretch from Southerham, to Falmer is an absolute disgrace. It has been like this for months. Presumably the authority responsible doesn't subscribe to 'Keep Britain Tidy', But then I suppose neither do those who chuck their litter out of their car/van/lorry windows either.”

Others believed it was the responsibly of residents to dispense of their litter appropriately, rather then throwing/dumping it on the ground.

A local said: “The council may have a responsibility to clear up the litter but why is it there in the first place? I think we all approach this in the wrong way. We should be teaching our children to respect this country and not throw their litter out of the car. Many adults are just as dumb, and expect others to clean up after them.”

Another noted: “How many times should the council clear the litter? If they cleared it weekly (at great expense, believe me) that would not be enough. People need to take responsibility and not expect other people to clear up their mess!! That’s the problem with this Country, we always expect someone else to do it.”

After Roger’s post was viewed by more then 4,500 people, an individual spent two days cleaning the rubbish himself.

Roger said: “This one man band has been more effective than the combined resources of the Lewes Council Environmental team for which we pay the third highest council tax in the country.”

Lewes District Council told SussexWorld that the ETMS Highways and National Highways have agreed to lane closures on the A27 for six nights from April 24.

The council say they can only regularly remove letter when lane closures are in place.

A spokesperson for the council said: “The council’s Environment First team will be working between Falmer and the Southerham Roundabout, removing litter from the east and west carriageway in turn.

“We are planning to work between the Southerham Roundabout and Middle Farm in June.”