LITTER at a much-loved beauty spot has reduced by 81 per cent since the removal of waste bins.

After a spate of anti-social littering in 2017 and 2018, South Somerset District Council (SSDC) decided to remove the litter bins in a bid to keep the area clean.

They encouraged visitors to take their litter home to be recycled - and as a result, the amount of litter on site has reduced by 81 per cent.

Councillor Sarah Dyke, SSDC’s portfolio holder for environment, said: “Essentially, visitors to Ham Hill have to take items that generate waste there, so there is no excuse not to take the waste away again, and recycle what they can at home.

"We believe the vast majority of visitors respect our no bins policy and do everything in their power to preserve this wonderful environment, by leaving no trace and respecting the wonderful visitor destination that Ham Hill is.”

This year, the countryside rangers only expect to find 1.5 tonnes of litter at Ham Hill, compared to 16.25 in 2018.

Paul McNeil, countryside ranger, said: “Before the removal of litter bins, they were always full in the honeypot areas around our site and if the bin was full, the rubbish bag went on the floor, next to the bin.

"We tried putting notices on the bins asking people to take their litter home if the bin was full, but to no avail. We also tried putting in recycling bins in the well-used areas but these were just used as litter bins too.

“When we removed the bins, we did a Facebook campaign asking people to take their litter home and explained that we could not recycle it, but they could.

“Overall, we have reduced the amount of litter at Ham Hill by over 81% compared to 2018, and we’ve given people the opportunity to contribute to the wellbeing of this site and its wildlife.”