‘THERE is mess everywhere you look around our town, people just don’t seem to want to pick up their rubbish.’

Those are the words of Burnham-on-Sea resident and keen dog walker Alan Clayton who is urging people around the town to pick up their litter after seeing an increase in the amount of rubbish left on pavements across the town.

Alan walks his dog daily through the town and said streets are becoming ‘plagued’ with litter as people are not disposing of it properly.

He said: “I have lived in Burnham for 57 years and littering has been getting steadily worse over the last few years.

“I walk my little dog every day and sometimes go on different routes through town and down the Esplanade but wherever I go I see litter.

“I started noticing it more while I was looking for dog waste bins after cleaning up after my dog and have been noticing discarded rubbish wherever I go.

“I walk along pavements and just see litter dropped on the ground, poo bags just tied up and left behind because I suppose there was not a bin in reaching distance.

“What is wrong with people nowadays? Have people just got a ‘don’t care’ attitude?”

Alan claims he has seen people leave cans, plastic wrap and bags full of chips on Burnham’s Esplanade after sitting down on benches and said he has fears people could suffer from health problems if the rubbish is not cleared away.

He said: “If we all had the attitude of people who don’t clear up their litter we would be walking or wading through litter all the time and diseases would start to be more prevalent.

“I know the streets do get cleaned, I do see street cleaners occasionally but within a day the rubbish is back.

“People need to make sure they take their rubbish with them and dispose of it properly so we can have a clean town.”

A spokesperson for Sedgemoor District Council said the increase in litter could be due to people visiting Burnham in the holiday season but people should dispose of their litter appropriately.

“Residents and visitors should follow the ‘take your litter home’ advice but we do clean the town centre on a daily basis,” the spokesperson said.

“During busy times we clean the town centre and seafront more than once day to keep rubbish bins clear. Main roads are swept least weekly and estates monthly.

“Sedgemoor District Council also part fund and work closely with Litter Free Coast and Sea Somerset who run various campaigns to reduce litter. “