A two week long campaign to tidy up one of Richmondshire’s busiest roads unearthed tonnes of discarded food waste containers and old car parts.

Members of the District Council’s Waste and Street Scene worked with Highways England to facilitate the litter pick on the busy A66 earlier this month.

They cleaned up the Richmondshire stretches of the dual carriageway covering the verges as well as both lanes. In total they collected more than 100 bags of rubbish – 90% of it being plastic bottles, glass containers, drinks cans and food wrappers all discarded by passing motorists.

The team went out six times to complete the work when Highways England had organised lane closures for the annual road inspection work.

“This stretch of road is normally deemed far too dangerous for our staff to litter pick due to the speed and volume of the live traffic,” said council spokesperson, Councillor Richard Good.

“However by working in partnership with Highways England, the staff managed to complete the work while minimising the risk to themselves.

“We are disappointed that so much litter and fly tips were found and all clearly discarded by passing motorists. We urge people to take their rubbish home and recycle as much as possible.”