Sun seekers leave litter across Preston’s parks and squares

Winckley Square on Wednesday evening - with litter scattered — Winckley Square on Wednesday evening – with litter scattered

Preston’s heatwave has seen many people enjoying eating and drinking al-fresco in the city’s parks and public squares.

But for the city’s litter-pickers it’s also meant an unfortunate rise in those leaving their picnics behind.

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Winckley Square was left scattered with wrappers, coffee cups and more during Wednesday (27 June) evening after sun worshippers departed.

Pictures sent to Blog Preston show the piles scattered around and Avenham and Miller Parks are also seeing the same.

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A spokeswoman for Preston City Council said: “It’s great that people are enjoying the parks and open spaces during the hot weather. It’s also frustrating that some people feel it’s acceptable to leave their litter for someone else to pick up. This falls to parks staff and ultimately the tax payer foots the bill.

“The image shows that many people are using the bins at Winckley Square and we hope everyone can continue to enjoy the Gardens and dispose of their litter responsibly.”

Winckley Square's cleaners collected this rubbish - clear bags from bins and the black bag from litter dotted around — Winckley Square’s cleaners collected this rubbish – clear bags from bins and the black bag from litter dotted around

A picture released by the city council showed the bag of rubbish collected, on top of the clear bags from the bins on the Square that day.

What’s the rules on littering?

Littering is classed as a criminal offence and anyone caught can be fined £80. If the matter went to court it could lead to a fine of up to £2,500 and could be classed as fly-tipping.

Anyone who sees litter can report it to the city council’s street cleaning team via the council website.