A LIB Dem councillor has said Teignbridge is not meeting its own criteria in keeping the area litter-free.

Cllr Alistair Dewhirst slammed a section of the council’s Ten Year Strategy Plan, which stressed: ‘We need to continue to keep our district clean, green and safe to make sure it is a desirable place to live and work in and visit’.

He said the council was not following the practice and the A381, for example, which he uses to get to the meeting, was terrible for litter.

Cllr Dewhirst, who has organised litter picks in Kingskerswell, said: ‘It is getting worse and the place is looking poor.’

Cllr Doug Hellier-Laing responded to Cllr Dewhirst’s remarks by saying: ‘You haven’t got that right, we are on top of it.’

The chief executive of the council, Nicola Bulbeck, said: ‘We are doing our best.

‘It’s not just about the council doing things, it’s up to the public to help, too.

‘It’s unacceptable to throw litter’, she added.

Cllr Judy Grainger, who has organised several litter picks in Newton Abbot, said she is concerned about the litter and was astounded with the amount of rubbish that had accumulated behind Newton Abbot Leisure Centre, just a week after she and a team had cleared it up.

On April 15, Cllr Grainger will be taking a group of pupils from Wolborough Primary School litter-picking.