A TEAM of local residents have been clearing up a favourite walking spot in Dorchester.

Litter pickers collected 15 bags of rubbish when they tackled the pathway between Coburg Road and Maiden Castle Road running alongside the Dorchester Rugby Club grounds.

The team’s efforts come after a litter campaign group called on Dorchester Town Council to recognise the problem caused by rubbish in the town.

Wendy Webb was one of six local residents who were helped by Dorchester town and district councillor Molly Rennie and Mayor of Dorchester Tess James as they gave the pathway a spring clean.

She said: “We got about 15 dustbin bags of rubbish and another 15 of leaves so 30 in total, we picked up the leaves because they were making the Tarmac very slippery.

“It just upsets me to see all the litter and it’s such a lovely walk there, it feels like you are in the countryside.

“It’s lovely, but it was just so sad to see more and more litter there.”

Mrs Webb said one of the most distressing things the group came across was dozens of bags of dog mess left behind by dog walkers using the route.

She said: “One of the main things was polythene bags tied up with dog poo in them that had just been left. We found well over 50 of them, it’s absolutely disgusting.

“I can’t believe these dog owners take the trouble to tie it up and then not bin it.”

In January members of the Dorchester Stop the Drop anti-litter campaign addressed members of the town council and urged them to recognise the problem the town faced with litter.

Mrs Webb said she was happy to support the campaign in their efforts to clean up the town.

She added that Councillor Rennie had agreed to ask West Dorset District Council about having more bins in the area that they have cleared in a bid to deter litterers in the future.