VILLAGERS are shocked after a litter picker revealed the amount of booze bottles and other rubbish she finds dumped along the side of main roads.

Louise Flack, who regularly collects rubbish from roads through Little Totham with a friend, says she finds a concerning amount of litter – especially empty alcohol bottles.

She started collecting rubbish in May 2020 and covers the roads around the village as well as Tolleshunt Major and some of Goldhanger.

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She and her friend clear up ditches, verges, hedges and copses by the roads, as much as they can.

The pair have collected an astonishing 682 black bin liners full of rubbish from the first week of January 2021 to the end of January 2022.

Maldon and Burnham Standard: Images of litter found by Louise and her friendImages of litter found by Louise and her friend

That doesn’t include more than 300 bags of recycling they have also collected in pink sacks.

Louise said one morning they litter picked a stretch of road starting at the top end of Loamy Hill.

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They had collected eight black bags of rubbish before they even reached the first right-hand bend.

Louise said: “More worryingly, again alcohol featured heavily.

“We collected 32 bottles of vodka and 55 miniature bottles of Jameson whiskey.”

Maldon and Burnham Standard: 32 bottles of vodka found in Loamy Hill32 bottles of vodka found in Loamy Hill

Suzanne Heron, part of a traffic working party in Little Totham, says this is not the first time they have found large amounts of identical empty alcohol bottles.

She said: “They can only have been thrown from a vehicle. There is no path along this road, nor are there any meeting places or any conceivable reason as to this number of bottles.”

This has led villagers to be concerned over a potentially dangerous driver who could be drinking regularly.

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However, the most upsetting issue for Louise is the amount of wildlife she finds dead among the rubbish.

She said: “Rarely do we pick and not find dead animals caught in bottles, cans, disposable coffee cups and crisp bags. This is heartbreaking.

“We continue to go out from two to four days a week and we do so in all weathers driven by the need to protect our wildlife and to protect the environment.”