'˜Uncaring' revellers told to pick up rubbish after tide of litter dumped in Southsea

Portsmouth City Council has united with Colas, which manages the city’s waste, to issue guidelines after a tide of litter was dumped along Southsea Seafront and the Common over the weekend.

While the authority admitted its teams face a ‘struggle’ as the warm weather brings a hike in residents and day-trippers out and about, it said there is simple action that can be taken – and repercussions if it is not.

A spokesperson said: ‘Colas and our in-house teams work very hard to keep the city clean and tidy, and of course concentrate on popular areas like the seafront, Canoe Lake and the Common.

‘At busy times we put out extra bins and increase patrols. The Common is cleaned daily, but at busy times like bank holidays, our litter patrols work constantly through the day.

‘However, sometimes our teams struggle to keep up with the volume of rubbish that uncaring people leave.

‘We’d encourage people to take their litter home. Barbecues are only allowed in special zones, and need to be disposed of in the special bins provided – not left on the grass or buried on the beach, where they can injure people and pets.

‘People caught dropping litter can get a £75 on-the-spot penalty or end up in court, where fines can be many hundreds of pounds.’