RESIDENTS are fed up of litter alongside the A27 – and now a new group is taking action.

The A27 Clean Up Campaign, made up of volunteers, is working to tidy up the busy highway.

The group now wants to work with councils and the Government to tackle the road’s rubbish problem.

Founding member Milly Manley said: “The state of the A27 roadside is appalling and an eyesore to everyone who travels along it. The amount of plastic is a threat to local wildlife and to the environment.

“We put the group together to help rectify the situation and are launching a region-wide campaign to deal with the extent of litter.”

Other residents have taken litter picking into their own hands.

Commuter Robin Fegan put on a pink boiler suit and cleaned up a portion of the slip road to Portslade.

He said councils needed to deal with the “simple issue” soon before spring comes and the grass verges become overgrown, adding: “The worry is all the foliage goes back and the litter disappears. The councils don’t seem to have structured plan to deal with it.”

But the problem is a difficult one to tackle as it involves so many organisations.

Though Highways England manages the A27, it is up to the councils along the route to collect the litter that piles up alongside it. This means council cleaners have to wait until the highway is shut to clean up the road safely.

This is something the Clean Up Campaign wants to change.

It is calling for Highways England to take full responsibility for rubbish collection along the road.

A Highways England spokesman said it already worked in partnership with councils to tackle litterbugs on the A27.

He said: “In the South East alone last year we collected around 67,000 bags of litter from roads across the region.”

A Brighton and Hove City Council spokesman said it had arranged to meet campaigners.

“We realise there are issues involved in keeping the A27 clean and litter-free,” said the spokesman.

An Adur and Worthing councils spokeswoman said it was currently reviewing processes for litter picking.

She said: “We would urge everybody to help prevent the litter ending up on our roadsides by taking their litter home with them.”