THE appearance of a key gateway into Worcester has been lambasted as "untidy" and "unwelcoming" in a fresh row over rubbish.

Councillor Steve Mackay, the deputy Mayor of Worcester, says London Road is letting the city down and harming its image to visitors by not being clean enough.

In recent weeks people living near the route, a popular arterial road to and from the M5 for commuters, have voiced concern over its appearance.

Councillor Mackay, a member of the Conservative group, has challenged the city council's Labour leadership about whether there has been "no drop in standards" in recent months.

Labour politicians have hit back by insisting London Road is a "complex" problem, and say the bin collections and cleaning routine has not changed.

Councillor Mackay said: "We've seen increasing reports in the local press of various sites suffering from uncleared litter.

"I have received complaints from people walking along London Road, a major route into the city, of it being an untidy and uninviting environment."

But Labour politicians say standards have not worsened, and insist that new equipment including a hired 'street jetting' device is making a difference.

Labour Councillor Jabba Riaz, the cabinet member for clean, green and leisure services, said: "We're doing exactly the same job in exactly the same way as 12 months ago (when the council was Tory controlled).

"In fact you could argue the levels of cleanliness in the city is better than before due to the new machinery."

Speaking during a council meeting, he said London Road was "a complex issue" but insisted it was being dealt with.

During the meeting litter levels in the city came up several times, including an impassioned rant from Councillor Alan Feeney, who said "standards have tumbled" and cited "bins overflowing, overgrown hedgerows and grass levels we've never seen".

Councillor Riaz repeatedly said standards are the same as before, and pledged that Labour would "protect the service" despite having to look for savings across the organisation.

During further questioning he also said there would be "no second chances" to business owners who leave rubbish bags out for collection overnight, with the practise now banned and culprits liable for £100 fines.

As the Worcester News revealed in July, a proposal aimed at saving an estimated £400,000 by 2018 by handing bin rounds, street cleaning and park maintenance to the private sector has been ditched.

HOUSEHOLDER'S ANGUISH OVER LONDON ROAD

A RESIDENT of London Road has contacted this newspaper to voice his concern over it, calling the street "a very unpleasant welcome to a beautiful city".

Mike Taylor, who has spent years calling for more investment into the road, said: "In recent weeks we've seen local councillors sitting astride expensive pavement washing machines, and stating that this will go a long way in resolving the problem of litter.

"I regret to say, no amount of sophisticated machinery will change the attitude of those who litter our streets.

"I've lived on the London Road for over 30 years and have been bitterly disappointed at the lack of interest as to the dreadful state of the pavements, road surfaces, dilapidated properties and continued ignorance of the owners of business properties to the status of a Conservation Area on the major route into our city."

He added: "I'm of the view that much could be achieved with very little extra financial cost, if there was more supervision and attention to detail by the operatives responsible for the cleaning tasks."