Tonbridge and Malling council is not doing enough to collect litter from the roadside.

That is the view of Danny Lucas, the owner of Lucas UK, based on the Invicta Business Park off the A20 London Road at Wrotham Heath.

He has written to Robert Styles, the council's director of Street Scene, on behalf of the residents of Hadlow and of the business park to tell him so - and garnered a petition signed by around 150 people.

Mr Lucas said: "It is absolutely clear that many people share my feelings about the low living standards being forced upon us through council neglect, in direct breach of the council’s statutory duty to maintain a Grade-A, litter-free environment and enforce the law.

"The amount of litter is impacting on people’s quality of life. We are all entitled to enjoy a safe, clean and hygienic area in which to live and work.

"It is also putting businesses at risk, impacting their ability to attract and retain staff and discouraging visitors, investors and clients to the local area."

He proved his point by photographing hundreds of instances of litter spread across Wrotham and Hadlow.

He said: "The photographs paint a picture of an unacceptable environment and a council failing to deliver on its statutory duties."

Aside from not doing enough to collect up litter, Mr Lucas said the council was not doing enough to dissuade the thoughtless people who dropped it in the first place.

Last year the council issued only 30 fines for littering compared with 48 the year before.

David Campbell-Lenaghan, partnership manager with South West Kent Waste Partnership, responded saying: "Since the start of the Covid 19 outbreak, our street cleaning staff have been regularly deployed to support the core refuse and recycling collection services, and continue to do so.

"This has meant that the regular street cleaning schedule across the borough has been disrupted, and we are fully aware that this needs to be addressed."

"Officers will assess the areas Mr Lucas raised in his letter and where necessary arrange for the required works to be carried out to bring them up to an acceptable standard within an acceptable time-frame."

But Mr Lucas said: "This is nothing to do with COVID-19. It is about the council not enforcing the terms of the contract with its waste contractors.

"Some areas have not been litter-picked for years."

Mr Lucas said residents were so fed up they were prepared to seek Litter Abatement Orders against the council through the magistrates courts if necessary.

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