Why not just take your rubbish home?

Seafront promenades have resembled the M1 motorway and local parks and gardens have been awash with visitors enjoying the sunshine.

Unfortunately, in the process of enjoying themselves, some people decide to ruin it for others by leaving large amounts of rubbish behind.

In the last 20 years, the picnic culture has changed considerably as many shops are now geared up to sell "instant picnics" and the era of the disposable barbecue has really arrived.

Rather than making sandwiches at home, which required a degree of planning, people can now buy all they need from a supermarket, delicatessen or even a petrol station for a spur of the moment event.

Unfortunately, these types of products tend to be highly packaged and in non-recyclable containers such as sandwich packets, salad bags and plastic trays.

The sad fact is that the days of Keep Britain Tidy and a culture of taking litter home seem to be long gone.

At the end of the picnic, the rubbish is placed in a litter bin.

Nothing wrong with that, but in many cases the bags of rubbish generated are much too big for the litter bin and are placed around the side, where they can be kicked around by vandals or split open by foxes or seagulls attracted by the smell.

Elsewhere, it seems as if people are anxious to savour every moment of the good weather as bottles are dumped in bags around bottle banks, even when there is plenty of space in the bank.

There are a lot of anti-social people who don't think twice about dropping litter.

Cigarette ends, fast food wrappings, sweet and crisp packets and plastic bottles are regularly tossed from car and train windows as well as by pedestrians.

The result is that our townscapes and road and rail verges are regularly defaced with all manner of discarded rubbish.

District councils, which are responsible for litter clearance along public roads and other open spaces, are finding it increasingly difficult to deal with matching the public expectation of clean streets with the rising tide of litter that is being dropped.

Councils are able to issue fixed penalty fines of 75 to deal with "litter bugs", but this relies on littering being witnessed and the witness willing to provide a statement.

Understandably, many people are willing to turn a blind eye rather than expose themselves to the stress of a court case.

However, without the co-operation of the public, councils are usually powerless to take enforcement action.

Yet, it is fair to say that most councils will be receptive towards complaints made by members of the public and would be willing to take follow-up enforcement action where it is appropriate to do so.

This may include issuing fixed penalty notices or taking perpetrators to court.

If you witness littering in Adur or Worthing, you are more than welcome to report the incident to me for further action.