HIGHWAYS bosses are urging Hampshire’s motorists to help them tackle litter problems on the county’s busiest roads.

The Highways Agency has launched its annual “Bag it. Bin it campaign” to encourage road users to reduce the amount of rubbish left on motorways and A-roads.

It costs at least £6m a year to collect more than 7,500 tonnes of rubbish from England’s roadsides, which last year included a rocking horse, a sailing mast and pieces of furniture, the agency has reported.

And in Southampton alone, the city council last year spent more than £1.25m collecting litter that had been dumped on the city’s roads, pavements and precincts.

A council spokesman said: “Southampton City Council whole-heartedly supports the Highways Agency’s Bag It and Bin It campaign.

“Car drivers are asked to help keep the city clean by bagging their litter and disposing of it in their domestic waste bins when they arrive home. Alternatively, there are in excess of 850 street litter bins provided across the city that are regularly emptied by the street cleansing team.

“Litter discarded along the city’s higher speed roads presents a particular problem. These roads form the city’s main traffic arteries and gateway routes, and the cleanliness of these roads will impact on visitors’ impressions of our city.

“Litter thoughtlessly discarded along these routes can only safely be removed by means of a mobile road closure. This operation is expensive, pulls resources away from teams keeping the city’s residential areas clean, and causes unnecessary disruption to traffic flows.

“Southampton’s drivers are asked to take pride in their city, have a care for our precious environment, and simply ‘bag it and bin it’.”

For more information on the campaign, visit highways.gov.uk/litter or to report any instances of litter being spilled from vehicles on motorways and major A-roads call the Highways Agency on 0300 123 5000.