A Ribble Valley councillor has urged residents not to “drive and drop” after a major litter clean-up operation.

Councillor Stuart Hirst has praised the hard work of the borough council’s clean-up teams after weeks of litter pickings along stretches of the A59.

Over the last couple of months, teams collected dozens of back bin bags filled with around 500kg of rubbish along safe sections of the road.

Cllr Hirst, chair of the council’s community services committee said: “Most motorists and their passengers using the A59 are fine.

“Unfortunately, there is a significant minority that mindlessly throw litter from their vehicle and use the road and its verges instead of a rubbish bin.

“Thousands of people drive along the A59 every day and if they see rubbish strewn along the road it creates the wrong impression of our borough.

“This isn’t just a Ribble Valley issue; it’s a nationwide problem.”

Some sections of the road were deemed too dangerous for workers to clean without costly temporary lane closures which affect traffic flows.

Hirst added: “Every time our team go out and clean up other people’s rubbish, along what is a busy and fast road, they are putting themselves in danger.

“We take our responsibility to keep our staff safe extremely seriously; if only people took their responsibilities as seriously and took their rubbish home, we wouldn’t need to be doing this.”

Ribble Valley Borough Council is not responsible for the maintenance of roads and highways, with the burden falling on Lancashire County Council.

But the work is a result of a partnership between the two and for many years it has picked up litter from main and country roads as well as in towns and villages across the borough.

Support is also provided for community clean-ups by supplying equipment and collecting bags of rubbish.