Time for a clean-up

I fULLY support the Great British Spring Clean, the Keep Britain Tidy campaign in partnership with the Mail. As well as encouraging the public to pick up litter, councils should do their bit.

There should be a requirement that when roadworks are being carried out, there must be litter clearance of adjoining verges.

When verges are strimmed, cuttings and litter should be collected. It is of no great value for the grass to be cut and the litter chopped up and scattered to the winds.

When someone is fined for dropping litter, they should also have to do a specified amount of litter picking, as should those on community service orders. This might give them a sense of pride in what they have done and encourage them not to drop litter in the future.

GRAHAM HAyES, Rushden, Northants. DRIVING down the A1 and M25 to Surrey, I was shocked to see the deplorable amount of rubbish, most of it plastic, along the roadside.

I weep at the filthy state of our country. If locals councils and Highways England can’t afford to clear up this litter, we need to impose a swingeing remedy to pay for it.

My suggestion would be a tax of one penny per item to a maximum of £1 on supermarket bills and an even heavier surcharge on takeaways. Mrs ANNETTE M. GREGORy, Lincoln.