DISGUSTING scenes have sparked complaints about the "abysmal" standard of litter collection in a New Forest town.

Civic leaders at Totton have accused New Forest District Council of failing to comply with its legal duty to keep the parish clean.

Under the 1990 Environmental Protection Act, district councils and other public bodies have a statutory obligation to remove litter from land under their control.

But Totton and Eling Town Council says streets and pavements are often covered in bottles, cans and wrappers.

Town clerk Derek Biggs said: "The district council has a duty to meet certain standards of litter collection and also has the power to instruct other landowners to do the same. Some parts of Totton, in my view, are not meeting the standards set out in the government guidelines.

"We're having a particular problem in Calmore at the moment and have also had difficulties in Commercial Road, Maynard Road and Junction Road.

"On occasions some places look as if someone has emptied a dustbin all over the ground."

Mr Biggs has sent a hard-hitting letter to the district council in which he refers to the "abysmal litter situation" in the town.

The letter accuses the authority of failing to plough sufficient resources into the problem and claims it is not meeting its legal obligations.

The issue was raised at a meeting of the town council.

David Harrison, chairman of the policy and resources committee, said: "The district council has failed us. Everyone I've spoken to says the quality of litter collection in Totton is very poor."

Colin Read, the district council's assistant director of commercial services, met Mr Biggs on Monday to discuss his complaints.

After the meeting Mr Read denied that the authority was failing to meet its obligations.

He added: "There are always litter hot spots. Mr Biggs and I have agreed to identify them and ensure they're dealt with more frequently than they may have been in the past."

Town councillor Di Brooks defended the district council, saying it always responded when alerted to a particular problem.

She added: "They're excellent if you ring them up, but the trouble is that people see rubbish and don't do anything about it."