A RUBBISH-strewn stretch of riverbank, branded a "Cumbrian disgrace," has been given a helping hand by The Westmorland Gazette's very own clean up squad.

Footpaths along the River Kent are a blot on Kendal's landscape, according to readers who have written in with their worst offending rubbish grotspots as part of the Gazette's Blitz Lakeland's Litter campaign.

The campaign aims to identify and highlight the area's worst offending areas for rubbish.

Over the past few weeks an area of riverbank in the Wattsfield area of Kendal was one of the places that came under fire from readers, as being one of the areas where mountains of mess accumulate.

Maureen Hunt, a visitor to the Lake District from near Wakefield, also wrote in saying she had been shocked at the state of the banks during a stroll and labelled the area a "Cumbrian disgrace".

A stroll down the banks this week revealed dozens of discarded plastic bottles, takeaway boxes, wrappers and plastic bags.

Bosses at South Lakeland District Council, which is responsible for clearing much of the area up, say that limited resources make it difficult to give the area the attention it needs.

So armed with rubbish bags, gloves and litter pickers borrowed from SLDC, a team of staff from The Westmorland Gazette, including editor and publisher Mike Glover, spent an afternoon clearing up the rubbish.

Mr Glover said he was "absolutely horrified" by the amount of litter left on the riverside.

It only took a short amount of time to make inroads on the bank, and ten bags of litter later it looked in a much better state.

In 2006/07, SLDC's budget for street cleaning was £828,000, which will rise to £842,900 in 2007/08 out of a £6 million budget for environment and sustainability.

Emma Brennan, of the Keep Britain Tidy campaign group, said: "Responsibility lies both with local authorities and with the public to clear up mess.

Any individual or group who wants to organise their litter pick can contact South Lakeland District Council, where they will be able to borrow the equipment needed (telephone 0845-050- 4434).

For the full story, get The Gazette...