A LOCAL man is on a mission to transform what he has called the "lay-by of woe" between Cumnock and New Cumnock.

The stopping place on the A76 is frequently used by lorry and long-haul drivers coming through the area.

Issues of fly-tipping and littering have been reported at the site over the years, with one resident now saying enough is enough.

Keith Campbell, from Logan, has been keen to clear up litter on the roadsides across East Ayrshire for a while, and says he has collected well over 6,000 bags of litter this year alone.

Some of the bags collected.Some of the bags collected (Image: Submitted) Keith said: "I’m needing some help from volunteers to get involved in bigger clean-ups and sorting out places like this lay-by, which has become a bit of a problem area almost."

Keith has urged people to take more personal responsibility for how they leave the area, and claimed it's a difficult issue to try to police.

He added: "We picked up over 110 bags from the area in the course of about a week and we’ve still to go back and collect more.

“It’s soul destroying to see the state it gets in when you’ve done so much work to clear it. There can be layers and layers of rubbish and human excrement and all sorts.

“We need to come together and try and sort out a solution long-term for this issue. Whether that’s trying to get some kind of CCTV installed or something like that.

“The thing is, the lay-by is used regularly by lorries passing through, so it’s difficult to police it properly. If you closed off the lay-by until something was sorted, then you’d only end up moving the issue to another location.

“We’ve got a wonderful area around here and it’s a crying shame to see parts of it ruined like this."


Now he's aiming to get as many people as he can on board with his aims and continue to keep parts of area the clean and tidy.

He said: “I’m also looking for someone who could help out with setting up a website where we could coordinate things like clean-up days on specific dates.

“Other litter picker groups have got good support in the area and it would be great to get people coming together to help with these things.

“In the spring this year, we did a clear-up from Mauchline right through to the M74, which is an area that I doubt has been done before, so we want to get people on board and support efforts like this, because it makes such a big difference."

Anyone able to help with Keith's efforts can contact him on kentcams@mail.com.

East Ayrshire Council has a section on its website where you can report fly-tipping or littering incidents.

Littering is a criminal offence, subject to a maximum fine of £2,500, while fly-tipping punishments can be up to £40,000 and/or six months imprisonment.