As a resident of Brighton & Hove since 2002, I have always been proud to say I’m from here but this is starting to be more embarrassing and sickening by the day.

I travel up and down the A23 on business and pleasure and last week was horrified by the amount of rubbish that littered the side of the highway.

They had just cut the verges and disturbed the rubbish. From Brighton to Cowfold this lasted, mile upon mile. It would take an army of workers weeks to collect.

What an advert for Brighton and Hove tourist board to invite tourists down the A23 rubbish highway into the city of filth.

The city is in even more danger of drowning under a sea of rubbish. Travelling across town, every street, every bin, every small space is covered in litter.

Are the council happy with this? Do they travel around Brighton and think they have done a good job? They should be ashamed.

Why are the bins overflowing? Why not more collections?

Residents are not absolved of blame either. I have seen people put black bags outside only to be ripped open by gulls or foxes and then leave their rubbish to be picked up, or not, by someone else.

They think as soon as it leaves their door it’s nothing to do with them any more. Are they not ashamed their personal rubbish is flying down the street?

On a recent trip to Warsaw, Poland, I was amazed at how clean the city was. I did not see one piece of rubbish, not one. It has a population of 1.7 million compared to 273,500 in Brighton and Hove. How can they do it and we cannot?

It will not get better on its own and it will only get worse.

Mike Smith Address supplied