CONTRACTORS are removing up to 80 dumped trolleys from the River Biss in Trowbridge every month.

Town development manager Daryl Saville-Brown said the trolleys were a continual problem which not only look unsightly but also restrict the river's flow.

She said: "Last month more than 30 trolleys were pulled out and it's happening every month. At one point last year about 80 or 90 trolleys were recovered. It needs addressing."

She said the supermarkets were unable to reuse any trolleys dumped in the river for hygiene reasons, and instead they had to be scrapped.

English Landscapes removes the trolleys each month on behalf of West Wiltshire District Council.

Recent finds in the river also include pallets, bicycles and traffic cones.

District council spokesman Louise Knox said the work is part of a bigger contract to keep the town tidy. She said: "English Landscapes clears the river from the concrete bridge at Biss Meadow up to the town bridge and the trolleys are mostly from Iceland, Tesco and Asda.

"Last month 34 trolleys were pulled out and they average between 20 and 80 each month. The most ever taken out was 88, during the first clearance."

She said there was no recovery charge but the trolleys are returned to the supermarkets.

Danny Mitchell, contract manager for English Landscapes, said two men spend one day a month clearing the river with rope and grappling hooks.

He said: "It is a tricky job, especially if the river is high and there is a limit to what we can safely do. The trolleys can cause flooding and get wedged around the sluice gates and bridges."