A man sick of finding rubbish dumped in his garden by tourists visiting Hampstead Heath has called for park authorities to bring back a bin they took away - because it got too full".
Stuart Windsor, who lives close to the entrance to the Heath in Parliament Hill, says tourists leave half-eaten picnic waste, beer bottles and cans in his and his neighbours' wheelie bins - and when they are full they pile their refuse on top and in their front gardens.
He says that until Easter the City of London Corporation, which runs Hampstead Heath, had a large public bin at the entrance but moved it away to a different location - apparently because it was getting too full at weekends.
Mr Windsor despairs that people visit the Heath for all its attractive qualities - and then trash the area when they leave.
“It’s depressing, every Sunday night I have to go out and pick up the rubbish from the front garden," he said.
Mr Windsor says the issue has been happening every weekend since the start of Easter.
“Where I live is very touristy, so there’s loads of traffic and people late at night. However I noticed the issue was getting worse when the public bin got taken away," he said.
Now he says he and his neighbours in Parliament Hill are providing a service that the corporation is not.
He says others experience the littering too, but his house is worst because it is the first before passers-by get to the Heath.
He added: “You walk down the road on a Sunday evening and front gardens are littered with coke cans and things, but not as bad as where I live.”
Mr Windsor has tried taping down the lids on his bins - and even once moved the public bin back to where it was, only to have it moved away again.
“That one weekend where I decided to move the bin, the littering problem went away. But the City of London Corporation unfortunately put it back," he said.
“It’s a funny situation because our bins are being used instead of the corporation's bin. A big public bin put back would be great.”
The City of London Corporation was contacted for comment but did not respond.
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