No excuse for a litter-strewn life

Unfortunately, the pleasure I derived from the exercise was tainted by the sight of Worthing and district's litter and weed infested streets. Even the countryside does not escape this pollution.

In the underpass between Patching Pond and Water Lane, a number of empty beer bottles had been left.

I had a bag with me so scooped them up and deposited them in a bag in Angmering village.

I often wonder when it all began to go wrong.

I am nearly 63 and can remember when the street sweepers took pride in their work and kept the pavements clear of weeds.

Now, the dustmen are forced to work at such a pace they are not permitted to pick up anything that they drop on the ground.

What happened to the annual gully-clearing which took place up to a few years ago?

I can remember being given a date when all cars had to be removed from the road to enable this work to be carried out.

Now, I even see weeds growing up from the drains which are often blocked with debris.

I do not think it is a good idea to have large areas of shrubbery around superstores (e.g., Tesco and the Co-op).

People just throw litter into it and it remains there for possibly months.

If these were removed and bricked over at least the litter could be dealt with quickly.

Parents must find time to teach their children to respect their environment and not to throw litter down in the street.

I can remember when I was 11 or 12 years of age, being reprimanded by my father for throwing a sweet wrapper on the ground outside the Houses of Parliament.

We could also spend just a few minutes now and again clearing the weeds from the pavements outside our houses (and those of any elderly neighbours).

OK, many will say it's the council's job to do this but a few minutes is not much to ask.

Come on, residents of Worthing!

I know we cannot expect the streets of the town to return to the pristine state of 50 years ago, but we can make an effort.

There are plenty of litter bins in Worthing (far more than in Sandown and Shanklin on the Isle of Wight where there seems to be much less litter in the streets).

There is really no excuse for the streets to be in the state they are in.

Yes, we pay our council taxes for services such as street sweeping and litter clearance, but we must play our part as well.

Andrew J Potter

Cranworth Road

Worthing