DURING a recent trip to the South Coast I drove along a motorway slip road where the verges had just been cut.

The grass looked trim but the cutting process had revealed a vast amount of litter that now lay strewn along the verges. Cans, plastic bags and bottles, food packaging - I was amazed by how much there was.

No-one is allowed to walk on the slip road so had people carelessly tossed these items out of their vehicles or had the wind blown all the trash there from roads and fields nearby?

Either way, despite all the discussions about sustainability and saving the planet, there are clearly still plenty of people about who have not got the message and see the landscape as a convenient waste bin.

It was interesting to read that the Duke of Cambridge has spoken about his son, Prince George's frustration after a litter picking outing with his school.

The following day the children walked the same route and found pretty much the same amount of litter was there again.

The Duke of Cambridge also expressed concern his son's generation would still be tackling climate change in 30 years, when it "will be too late."

Let’s hope that’s not the case and people really start to think about how their actions can damage the environment.

On a positive note, last week’s Westmorland Gazette reported about how staff at O’Neill Architects spent a day at South Walney Nature Reserve and collected a pick-up truck’s worth of litter which had been washed up on the beach. Beach and marine litter can cause a great deal of harm to wildlife and the team of litter pickers is to be commended.

It was also good to read the Lake District National Park Authority has installed a range of rapid electric vehicle charging points across the park as part of its plans to promote a ‘cleaner’ environment - and that Grasmere’s Victorian House Hotel has launched a ‘CO2 Free’ package so guests can enjoy a carbon neutral stay.