Heaps of roadside debris tackled as part of nationwide litter scheme - including on the M6

Three crews of six – made up of National Highways staff and its contractors Colas and Amey – spent the day clearing up large items of debris from some of the region's motorways as part of the Great British Spring Clean campaign, which is now in its ninth year.

A team from the Bescot depot near Walsall cleared both carriageways of the M6 between junctions 10 and 10a and some of the M54.

A Longbridge crew scoured the M40 between junctions 15 and 16, junction 16 to M42 junction 3a and the M42 from junction 3 to 3a while volunteers from Watford Gap outstation in Northamptonshire covered both carriageways of the M1 between junctions 16 and 18.

Among the items collected were tyres, lorry straps, collision debris, roadworks signage, and even a divan bed.

Dan Ablett, National Highways on-road operations manager who co-ordinated and took part in the clean-up, said: "We were targeting the bigger items that road users tell us are an eyesore but which could also pose a risk to road users and those working on the roads. It was surprising how much we collected on relatively short sections of carriageway, but also surprising to see the wildlife that lives in our verges especially a slow worm we spotted slithering through the grass."

The volunteers will be back out again over the next two weekends, including Easter, covering more stretches of the region's motorways.

It comes after National Highways launched its new litter campaign last month which saw it partner with the RSPCA to urge road users to 'Lend a Paw – bin your litter'.

The RSPCA revealed it had received over 10,000 reports of animals found injured, trapped or dead from discarded litter in the last three years – which amounts to almost 10 per day.

The campaign is featured on radio adverts, roadside billboards, posters at motorway service areas and petrol stations and on social media.

More information can be found here.