More than 100 cans of Fosters dumped in ditch

More than 100 Fosters lager cans have been found dumped in a ditch in Lincolnshire.

On Friday, Rachael, from Upton, discovered 101 Fosters cans, 18 mixed beer tins and three bottles of mouthwash in a ditch in Kexby while litter picking with her son.

Rachael said the litter "lowers the tone of the area" and "looks disgusting", adding that the ditch had been clear of rubbish two weeks earlier.

West Lindsey District Council encouraged anyone with information to get in touch, and called for similar incidents be reported so it could carry out investigations.

Rachael, who has been litter picking in the area for seven years, said the find was part of a wider problem.

In 2021, she discovered more than 400 beer cans dumped in a ditch and said she had since seen similar littering incidents "all over".

"It's becoming quite a hazard," she said.

"When they hedge-cut, they cut [the cans] and it's causing sharp edges, which is a problem to wild animals. They can get injured through cuts and mice also go into them and can get trapped.

"It's quite a problem with the environment in that context. It's also antisocial behaviour and it looks disgusting."

Rachael said she had also found wine bottles, suspected drug packets and gas canisters while litter picking.

She said food packing is regularly discarded, but "alcohol packaging is the highest thing that we seem to be finding at the moment".

Rachael called on people to dispose of their waste responsibly.

"I think the people who are responsible just need to take ownership of the fact that they've generated this," she said.

"There are plenty of bins provided by the local authorities where they can discard them. There's also their blue bins at home. So there's no excuse."

She added: "It just lowers the tone of the area. I mean, if you drive from Upton to Gainsborough on the Morrisons back road, it's absolutely disgusting with waste.

"You can't litter pick it because the verges are too narrow and it's too dangerous. We shouldn't have to clear up after other people who just cannot be bothered."

A spokesperson for West Lindsey District Council said: "The impact of fly-tipping and littering is a blight on the district and the clean-up for incidents such as this is paid for by the taxpayer.

"Where appropriate evidence is found, the council will seek to issue fixed penalty notices of up to £1,000 or, in some cases, will prosecute offenders in court."

Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North.

Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices