Retired lecturer Richard Savage is hoping to shame litterbugs by publishing these photos of rubbish that finds its way into his garden off Windsor Drive.

Mr Savage, 71, from Maud Close, saw our article on the growing tide of litter in the town and got in touch.

He said: “There is a small but attractive council-owned area alongside a public footpath adjacent to my property and rubbish is deposited there.

“A percentage of this inconsiderately disposed of material often finds its way under my boundary fence and onto my property.”

Mr Savage, who taught at Lackham Agricultural College, decided to clear up the mess himself and quickly assembled a large heap of rubbish.

He said: “Collecting it, sorting it and disposing of it took me several hours, and it wasn’t easy. It was quite a heap.

“It is difficult to ascertain what type of individual might be responsible but the items range from plastic soft drink containers to bagged animal – presumably dog – faeces.

“I would rather like you to publish the photographs. Maybe, just maybe, it will shame somebody into taking their rubbish home next time.”

Mr Savage supplied a photograph of a plastic bag, thought to contain dog faeces, hanging from a tree along the route from his home to the filling station in London Road.

Victoria Road resident Jeremy Cross regularly patrols the area close to the Kennet and Avon Canal and finds vast quantities of litter dumped by the canal bank.

After the Gazette took photos of some of the illegally dumped rubbish, Mr Cross contacted us to say that the litter had mysteriously disappeared. He said: “Do you think somebody saw us or it is just a mighty coincidence?

“I will wager half my income that it will be returned within a few days.”