The streets of two Maidstone villages are being kept clear of unsightly litter, thanks to the efforts of a real-life Womble.

After growing tired of seeing the North Downs being blighted by rubbish, 59-year-old Jeanette Macleod decided to take matters into her own hands.

Now the one woman army takes terrier Tarka out to patrol Detling and Thurnham every day, filling several bags with discarded bottles, food wrappers and the main culprits - takeaway coffee cups.

In total, the mum-of-two walks 27,000 steps a day, and in six months has filled 30 large waste sacks, which are then collected by Maidstone Borough Council.

Mrs Macleod, who lives in Coldblow Lane, Thurnham, said: “It is sad to see the area so full of rubbish.

“Every day I go out and take a couple of carrier bags, and I always manage to fill them. You get some things like dirty nappies and pants, and dog poo bags hanging in trees, but most of the time it is the fast food leftovers.

“People will sit with their McDonald’s on the motorway bridge or throw cans in the bushes. The worst is the coffee cups which people throw out of their car windows when they’re finished with them.”

It is estimated that Highways England, which looks after Kent’s motorway network and many of the county’s A roads, spends £6m nationally every year picking up litter, while Kent’s councils spend around £20m dealing with the problem.

Maidstone Borough Council currently punishes litter bugs with an £80 fine.

The authority provides more than 1,500 litter bins, and spends £1.6m a year on street cleansing.

Mrs Macleod added: “I do wish people would be more responsible. We seem to have an awful generation of yobs that just don’t care about spoiling the countryside.

“I think people locally think I’m quite eccentric, but the council just don’t have the money to spend on clearing. Someone has to.”