A tireless volunteer who has worked to keep streets clean for years has called for more people to be prosecuted for littering.

Gareth Key, 63, has been out with his litter picker clearing roads and ditches of rubbish in the Bramford area for about five years.

But his patience was tested to the limit after filling more than a dozen bags of waste from one lane in a few hours one Friday morning.

Mr Key, of Limes Avenue, Bramford, said: “You never see anyone prosecuted, no one seems to get charged or warned – there’s nothing done about it.

“It’s ridiculous, I’m not the only one who litter picks. I just walked the length of the lane going to Claydon picking up the rubbish and putting it in piles. I then came back in my car – I had a car full with the rubbish.

“I do not think anybody should have to do it and pick up the rubbish. “The campaigns do not seem to do anything – what’s the answer?”

Mr Key picked up the litter from Paper Mill Lane in Bramford after walking the two-mile route.

Last year the cost of clearing up the A14 and A12 was revealed by the EADT. Councils have been left with a bill of more than £700,000 over the past four years to clean up the roads.

Mr Key has been given equipment to carry out the litter picking from Mid Suffolk District Council which is responsible for the upkeep of the area.

Councillor Roy Barker, environment portfolio holder, said: “The issue of littering is a concern for us: we’re lucky to live in such a beautiful part of this country and we all have a responsibility to keep it that way.

“If anyone from Mid Suffolk District Council spots littering taking place, the information goes straight to our environmental protection officers and we take a zero tolerance approach. Sadly, it just isn’t possible for the council to be watching every street all the time to spot litterers, but the public can help.”

A police spokesman said: “If an officer witnesses somebody littering they will deal with them as they see appropriate. This can include issuing the person with a fine.”