How did littering become accepted behaviour?

sir – A recent short stay in the Lake District left me utterly depressed and angry at the state of our countryside (Comment, March 6).

Who thinks it’s acceptable to wind the window down and throw out even the smallest item? At the end of every journey – be it at work, a service station or home – there will be a bin.

The time has come to get tough and find some way of cleaning up our country by making such behaviour totally unacceptable.

As well as signs, such as those warning against driving tired, maybe there should be regular reminders and then some way of penalising more offenders.

Judith Carter

Huddersfield, West Yorkshire

sir – Having just returned from the island of Lanzarote, I write regarding the state of our highways.

The streets in Lanzarote are perfectly clean, totally clear of rubbish and regularly patrolled by council workers. Immediately following the recent carnival procession in Puerto del Carmen, the council literally followed the last float, blowing all debris into the road where lorries collected it and washed down the roads. By the morning, there was no indication of the crowds that had gathered there the night before.

On Saturday, however, travelling along the A31 through the New Forest, a very precious part of our countryside and history, I was shocked by the amount of debris littering the verges. The majority of it appeared to be plastic sheeting and building detritus.

Why does the Government not pass a law that makes open-top lorries and vans tie all waste down under netting or a tarpaulin? This would go some way towards solving the problem.

Julie Edwards

Ringwood, Hampshire