THE first of a two-day litter-pick along three miles of walkway in Caldicot is due to take place today (FRI) following residents' expressing their anger at rubbish being dumped there.

Monmouthshire council is hoping residents will volunteer to help clean up the popular path on wasteland at Garthalan Drive, which is littered with rubbish ranging from used nappies to building materials, a fridge,toilet and burnt out car.

The council has said although the land is not owned or run by it, there is a ‘genuine desire’ to work with concerned residents and the landowner to clean the area. The clean-up is being funded by the Tidy Towns initiative, with support from Keep Wales Tidy and the county council.

Residents living near the site have called for it to be cleaned up for over a decade but say it shouldn’t be down to them to clear up rubbish they haven’t dumped.

One of them, Keith Lewis,52, is concerned about the used needles and glass and dirty nappies lying around and that is needs specialists to clean it up.

A Monmouthshire council spokesman said: “As the land near Garthalan Drive does not belong to the council it is difficult to allocate sufficient in-house resources to clean the area. This is why we want to encourage residents to work proactively with us.

“Council staff will attend to remove potentially dangerous items and we will carry out a risk assessment on the project. Residents would be asked to do a general litter pick only. "Furthermore, the Keep Wales Tidy charity would offer ongoing support to any group that wished to continue after the two days of litter picking.”

The Argus attempted to contact Derek Prosser Associates, acting on behalf of landowners Llanhennock Investments and Fairlake Properties for comment. Mr Prosser previously said his clients are keen to do what they can and is working with Environmental Health and considering blocking off vehicle access.

Volunteers can take part in the litter pick which takes place today between 10am and 2pm and again on March 21 between 9am and 1pm.