A GOOD citizen who took it on herself to clean up a roadside collecting 29 bags of rubbish was stunned when the local tip refused to take the waste unless she paid for it.

Farmer Ruth Wrixton, 63, said she was ‘sick’ of the rubbish thrown away by passing motorists and car parts left from collisions around the notorious’ Miles Cross Junction on the A35 near Bridport.

She and her partner Brian Sanders, 76, collected 29 black bags of waste which included a carpet and a car wheel.

Ms Wrixton, of West Road, took the collected waste to Bridport Recycling Centre at Broomhills – only to be told they would have to pay for it to be disposed of.

Dorset Council – which later arranged for the waste to be collected free of charge – said although the authority is ‘grateful’ for community litter-picks, council officers need a ‘heads up’ so collected waste from the public can be authorised.

However the experience has put Ms Wrixton off cleaning up again.

She said: “My partner and I noticed all the rubbish accumulating on the A35.

“Since mid-March, we’ve picked up 29 black bags of rubbish, car parts and a carpet from the Miles Cross Junction stretch of the A35 – which took around 18 hours.

“The wheel has been on the side of the road for two years and I was sick of the sight of it. So, I propped it up against the 50mph sign in the hope the council would pick it up, but to no avail.”

Enough was then enough for Ms Wrixton, who picked the heavy wheel up and took it along with the bags of rubbish to the Bridport Recycling Centre, only to be told they would have to pay for its disposal.

“We explained that it came from the side of the road with a photo to prove it and stated we were just trying to help,” she said.

“They said it didn't matter as we had brought it in, and we still had to pay for it or take it back to the side of the road and phone the council.

“I know the workers at the tip are only doing their job but surely there must be some allowances.

“The centre workers are always extremely courteous and do a great job, so I do not blame them.”

As a result, the cleaning couple placed the wheel back at the junction and phoned the council for them to pick it up. The council also arranged for the bags of rubbish to be collected.

“The council's attitude needs to change and sadly this has put me off from picking up litter on the roadside again,” said Ms Wrixton.

A council spokesman said: “We’re grateful for Ms Wrixton’s efforts. However, our contractors at the recycling centre were not made aware in advance of the waste being dropped off and therefore were not authorised to take everything she had collected.

“If we would have been given a heads up, we could have arranged for the litter to be collected from a specified location – as per standard procedure.”