A picturesque countryside trail has been turned into a dumping ground for drivers stopping in a lay-by on the A2.

Piles of rubbish are strewn across a bank beside the North Downs Way.

Bottles filled with urine, used toilet roll and plastic containers are among the discarded waste in undergrowth at Harbledown.

Although out of sight for motorists driving along the A2 towards Canterbury, those who stop in the lay-by just past the Faulkners Lane bridge will be met with the rotting stench of about 30 metres of rubbish.

Council spokesman Leo Whitlock said: “Our enforcement officers have been sent to the area to investigate any fly-tipping while our contracts team is arranging for the public land to be litter-picked as soon as possible.

“The responsibility for the disgusting state of the A2 rests with those who are too lazy to either take their rubbish home with them or dispose of it properly and instead decide to throw it out of the window.

“Their selfishness now means we have to make arrangements to litter pick the side of the road at the cost of tens of thousands of pounds to council taxpayers.”

In February there were calls from Cllr Ashley Clark for prisoners to be used to clear roadside verges across the district.

Next week councillors will decide whether to increase fines for littering from £80 to £150.