Astronaut helmet, toilets and stage props among unusual items dumped on highways

Fancy dress costumes including the space head gear, half of a pantomime horse, cash plus bottles containing wee and toilets - have been left strewn next to motorways and trunk roads - leaving highways maintenance workers less than impressed.

Research carried out by National Highways found that 65 per cent of drivers who admit to dumping litter have discarded food and drink waste at the roadside.

The study found that 22 per cent said they drop litter out of habit, 20 per cent wrongly leave food debris for wildlife which can actually result in animal deaths, 15 per cent claimed they had no time to dispose of it properly while 13 per cent tried to justify their actions by claiming that “everyone does it”.

Nearly one in three or 31 per cent of  drivers aged 18 to 24-year-olds and almost a quarter or 24 per cent of 25 to 34-year-old drivers admit to discarding litter on the roadside in the past year. Meanwhile, 19 per cent of 35 to 44-year-olds confess to similar behaviour.

In addition 10 per cent of drivers do not think that those who have to pick up litter from the side of the road are taking any risks with their lives by having to clean up after them.

Now National Highways which looks after the major road network is joining forces with environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy to warn the public of the dangers of throwing rubbish in laybys and verges. 

Efforts include installing warning signs on slip roads to urge drivers and passengers to play their part to dispose of litter responsibly and supporting this year's Great British Spring Clean organised by the charity.

National Highways customer journeys boss Freda Rashdi said: “We’re proud to support the Great British Spring Clean for the tenth consecutive year and encourage everyone who can to get involved — whether by joining local litter-picking events or simply disposing of waste responsibly.

“Littering doesn’t just harm the environment, it also puts those who clean it up at risk. Plus it can have devastating effects on wildlife and animals.

"By working together we can help keep our roads and communities clean and safe.”

Chief executive of environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy Allison Ogden-Newton said: “With more vehicles than ever before on our roads and a significant increase in our food and drink on-the-go culture, roadside litter is a growing problem.

"It presents a massive challenge to those who are tasked with looking after our road network and a danger to the wildlife that actually thrives on the verges and banking by our motorways."

Around three million animals die every year due to roadside waste. The Great British Spring Clean runs from March 21-April 6.