TODAY we have reported on the sterling efforts of one volunteer to clear up the verges along the A27.

Dave Sutherland picked up bags and bags worth of rubbish left strewn in bushes in Hove.

He is one volunteer among many on Brighton and Hove City Council's tidy up teams.

It makes a real difference to make our city a better place to live.

But sadly it seems that Dave and others are facing an ongoing "nightmare" of trying to clear the deluge of rubbish that litterbugs fling out of car windows.

At country lanes being fly-tipped, on streets with items dumped alongside the wrong bin, and at our beaches and parks on a hot day it can often end up being the same old story.

Quite simply, despite the best efforts of those who take pride in Sussex, it is not enough to stem the tide.

Over the past few years we have all become more conscious of the impact of plastics in our oceans and areas of outstanding natural beauty.

But thinking about the planet should start closer to home.

Our rubbish is a plague on nature. Or perhaps, better put, we are the plague.

Surely more action is needed. We can all make sure we take rubbish home with us from the beach, but those who flout this should be made to start picking up the mess.