A WORKINGTON man has hit out at the state of the streets in Workington.

Peter Smith, 80, has written to Alan Smith, leader of Allerdale council, to complain about the amount of litter abandoned around Workington.

Mr Smith, of Calva Road, walks past the town's leisure centre every day and is fed up of seeing cans and bottles scattered near the river, the police station and around the bingo hall.

He said: "It's a real tip, it's a disgrace to the town. Alan Smith is probably very busy, but I have invited him to meet me so I can show him. There's a lot of bottles and cans, 50 to 100 lying on the ground near the bingo, the stream and the entrance of the leisure centre, it's full of litter of all kinds. It's a terrible advert for the town.

"You see operatives litter picking around town and on the A595 even on a Sunday, but they're just scratching the surface. I'm ashamed to live here."

Mr Smith said he suggested to the leader police could increase patrols as he believes prosecutions would help.

He added: "People buy a take-away or a bottle and just through it when they're finished. I'm not saying people are bad round here, if you collapsed in the street they would all rush to help you, but I think some people are careless."

Mr Smith's comments follow a column published by Allerdale's leader in the Times & Star earlier this month, where he talks about his resolution to make the area better and improve council services.

A response from the authority commits to tackling the areas identified by Mr Smith and warns people could be fined if caught littering.

A spokesman for Allerdale council said: "We take pride in keeping Allerdale as clean and tidy as possible. However, we recognise there are some areas which need extra attention at times, and therefore we shall be arranging for the places identified by Mr Smith to be tidied up by our hit-squad in the next few weeks.

"With hundreds of bins around the borough there really is no excuse for dropping litter and we will take enforcement action, which can include an on the spot fine, if we see anyone dropping litter. The easiest way for residents to report litter is through our online form at www.allerdale.gov.uk or through the myAllerdale app."