A GAS engineer who picks up litter from the side of the road when travelling between jobs said the area has become a 'dumping ground.' 

Philip Wood, who is based in Newby Bridge and generally travels around the Cartmel Peninsula, expressed his despair at the state of the side of the roads. 

The Mail: He said that the problem has got worse with McDonalds and Greggs opening in the local areaHe said that the problem has got worse with McDonalds and Greggs opening in the local area

"It is horrendous," he said. "There are bottles, cans, bottles of pee. People moan about it, but nobody seems to bother picking it up. If we all did our little it would make it cleaner. 

"Why is it just one man? We live in such a wonderful place but nobody cares-it is such a shame. I have always done it, but it gets so bad I've become overwhelmed. When I travel to Newby Bridge to Allithwaite on a single day it is around 17-20 picks of litter. I am doing it daily. If I leave it a week it is just as bad." 

The Mail: Phil said that all people have to do is bring 'one bag for life and clear up some of the litter'Phil said that all people have to do is bring 'one bag for life and clear up some of the litter'

Philip is from Stoke-on-Trent and says that litter on the side of the road is the norm in urban parts of the UK. However, he worries that this is becoming normalised even in areas such as Cumbria.

"Some roads don't get picked at all - High Newton was shocking. It is far more obvious somewhere like here than in Stoke," he said.

"In other countries you might find two or three picks over a few miles. Here, you travel a few hundred yards and you'll have bags of litter. It is just getting worse, the country is a dumping ground."

Philip regularly posts pictures of his picks to the Cartmel Peninsula Facebook page. One year, he did a special '12 days of litter-picking Christmas' and he said that he did 63 bags. 

He claims that when the grass is cut on the side of the road cans and bottles get crushed up by the lawnmower making it even harder to pick out the rubbish. 

Philip used to post on the page every week but now does it less because he thought he was starting to 'oversaturate' the page with his photos. However, he said that he 'didn't want people to think that this issue is getting better, because it's not.' 

 

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