Three major roads will be cleared of rubbish and litter.

Dover District Council says the A256, A2 and A20 will be tackled over two weeks from now.

It says it will work with partner agencies to do this with the minimal disruption to traffic flows.

The council is responsible for the clearance of roadside litter on the A256, which has increased as a result of the additional traffic using this route since last December.

Freight delays over the Christmas period, and the use of Manston Airport for increased lorry checks and Covid testing, both contributed to a large increase in roadside litter on the district’s local road network.

The two-week traffic management plan for this has now been costed and agreed and the cleansing of both lanes along the entire 11-mile length of the A256 will begin this week.

It goes from York Street in Dover to Broadstairs via Crabble, Whitfield and Sandwich.

The council has written to central government to ask for more money for the additional impact that the UK leaving the EU has had on the district’s roads.

The A2 and A20 will also be cleansed in the next few weeks by another contract firm, working at night to minimise disruption. Highways England is responsible for this route and it requires an emergency order for managing traffic flow.

Cllr Nicholas Kenton, DDC cabinet member for planning and regulatory services, said: “The increase in freight traffic over the last few months on these primary routes has left its mark, with a huge increase in litter on the roadside, which is an environmental eyesore.

" This huge rubbish clearance exercise will hopefully get the district’s road verges back to their best. Plans to introduce bulk bins in the laybys on these routes should help to improve the management of roadside litter going forward."

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