Dozens of bottles of urine and even a wild boar carcass were picked up during a roadside clean-up of the A2.

The litter pick along the entire Canterbury stretch of the A2 cost the city council £20,000.

The authority used waste contractor Serco to clear the dual-carriageway’s verges and lay-bys following a string of complaints about rubbish dumped by the side of the road.

A team of nine worked for five hours a day for two weeks, with an off-peak lane closure needed throughout the operation.

Workers picked up a tonne of rubbish a day, including plastic bottles filled with urine, metal roadwork signs and even the carcass of a wild boar.

Traffic cones and lorry tyres were also collected, as well as fast food containers, drinks bottles and confectionary packaging.

The deep clean was supported by the use of a giant vacuum cleaner provided by Highways England.

Council leader Cllr Simon Cook joined the crews for one morning.

“I absolutely take my hat off to them,” he said.

“It’s an exceptionally tough job but their spirit and dedication to the task was plain to see, even as huge juggernauts roared past just a few metres away and the latest roadwork sign frame was pulled out of the undergrowth.

“It’s very sad that we should have to put such an amount of money and staffing resources into this kind of work. The lack of respect people have for the environment is staggering. One bottle of urine would be one too many but dozens of them have been picked up over the two weeks.

“We’ve received lots of comments about the state of the A2 verges and people have been very understanding about the fact it’s not easy to close off part of such a major road. We’re pleased with the end result and will be discussing with Highways England ways in which we can work together in the future to make jobs like this easier to do and cheaper for the taxpayer.”