Not a pretty picture

I'd seen these signs alongside the main road yesterday on my way home but had not the time or opportunity to stop. So on the way home from the gym yesterday I'd identified somewhere to pull over and walk 'til I could get the shot.

This matters to us, to Susan especially. One of her passionate causes is litter. She gets so frustrated by the amount of litter, the complete indifference of those in authority to the problem and the cost of cleaning up. The cost both in monetary terms and human life. One stretch of road, the A249 between Maidstone and Sittingbourne was labelled the worst road in Britain for roadside litter. Once you've noticed the amount of rubbish strewn on the verges and festooned from branches your eye is drawn ever to it.

The frustration is we don't know what to do. Even the illustrious Bill Bryson, who was a leading light in the Campaign for Rural Engalnd, had to admit defeat and move on. Litter is not high on the agenda of politicians, locally or nationally yet it defaces and devalues our country, especially in the eyes of visitors.

The trouble is, only a minority of people care and only a small minority of those do anything about it because the problem is so huge that it is daunting. And it seems to us that the same few people across the land are always fighting battles on behalf of a silent lumpen majority who don't or won't care. We're fighting off several planning proposals in our village but doing so is a full time job and few people have the time to devote to all the issues that need addressing.

Answers on a postcard will be very much appreciated. An answer is to change people's attitude to litter, but changing attitudes is something that takes a long time and a considerable amount of effort. We can't stop some people using mobile phones while driving and we still see signs up saying seatbelts save lives....