People living in a village defied warnings from Highways England and collected more than 25 sacks of litter from dual carriageway slip roads.

After pleading with Highways England, which is responsible for maintaining the A2, to take action to clean up the increasing rubbish, residents of Shorne decided to take the matter into their own hands and picked up litter themselves in Brewers Road, Shorne, just off the A2.

Highways England applauded the efforts from the volunteers, who dedicated their time to cleaning up the slip roads, but advised them against doing it again because of the risk involved.

Bob Lane, who lives in the village and organised the litter collection, said: “Residents were appalled at the amount of litter alongside the slip roads, and we are fed up waiting for Highways England to tackle the mess.

“It’s been over 18 months since they last collected any litter from these slip roads, and we had to act now before it was covered by vegetation.”

Mr Lane, among others, had asked Highways England to provide signs and a message in the adjacent overhead gantry to give warnings to drivers about littering.

A Highways England spokesman Howard Rhoades said: “We work hard to tackle the problem of roadside litter.

“Each year we collect around 200,000 bags of litter from motorways, around 500 a day.

“Litter isn’t just unsightly, it can block drains and harm wildlife.

“Picking it up puts road workers in harm’s way and is a distraction from other vital work they could be doing.

“Mr Lane’s public spirit is commendable, and we do not want to appear unsympathetic to the litter picking initiative, but picking litter along a busy dual carriageway is a dangerous task and we do not advise walking along the verge at this location for safety reasons.”