Litter in hedgerows and verges on the busiest roads across Bath and North East Somerset is being tackled in a seven-week clean-up operation.

Bath and North East Somerset Council's cleansing teams will pick up unnecessary rubbish thrown from vehicles onto verges of A and B roads in a blitz starting this week.

Traffic management will be in place as the teams clean up more than 150 miles of verges at a cost of £18,000 to the council.

Last year crews collected more than 188 bags of unnecessary waste weighing in at 3.5 tonnes, the equivalent of a light goods vehicle.

Councillor David Wood, joint cabinet member for Neighbourhood Services and Climate Emergency, said: "The rubbish is completely unnecessary and is only there because of people's carelessness.

"Most of it is fast-food packaging and items thrown from vehicles. Litter is not only an eyesore but damages the environment and wildlife too.

"Our clean-up operation is expensive, time consuming and dangerous for our crews and it's frustrating that this time and money could be better spent on other essential services for residents.

"However, we want to keep our area looking beautiful, which is why we have dedicated funding to carry this out each year. We apologise for any inconvenience caused to drivers during the clean-up."

Litter picking schedule for 2021, subject to change depending on weather conditions:

A37 - February 17 and 18

A368 - February 22 and 23

A39 - February 24 to 26

B3116 Junction A39 to Keynsham - March 1 and 2

Woollard Lane and Charlton Road to Keynsham - March 3 and 4

A367 - March 8 and 9

B3130 Chew Magna to A37 Pensford - March 10 and 11

B3114 Chew Magna to border by Sherborne Farm - March 11 to 15

B3355 Hallatrow to A362 - March 16

A362 Farrington to Old Mill Ind Estate - March 17

Queen Charlton Lane - March 18 and 19

Stockwood Lane - March 22

Brassknocker Hill - March 24

B3110 Hinton Charterhouse Road - March 25

Claverton Down Road from Brassknocker to Uni - March 26

Lansdown Road to S.Glos border to Fonthill Road - March 29

Lansdown Lane from Lansdown Rd to Beresford Gardens - March 30

A431 Kelston Road - March 31

A36 Lower Bristol Road Cares Centre to 3 Lamps Junction - April 1

A4 Globe to Car Sales Saltford - April 2

A36 Warminster Road - April 6 and 7