Concerns have been raised over the state of Reading town centre by a resident who returned to visit some of his favourite haunts.

Adrian Hine, who lived in Reading for 30 years before moving away in 2019, said he was ‘utterly dismayed’ by the litter he spotted in some of his favourite childhood town centre beauty spots.

The ‘significant amount of litter’ is thought to have been accumulating over months and years and attracting unwanted wildlife to the area .

Adrian said:  “Although I have moved away I am still feel a strong pride for my home town and I visit regularly to see family and friends.

“I hadn't been in Reading Town centre since 2019 but on Saturday I walked around the town and was utterly dismayed to see the state of litter on the streets as I walked from my childhood haunts in Kategrove into the town centre.

“The amount of rubbish along the journey was staggering. Not just visually unappealing, suggesting no one cares about the environment, but encourages rats, and a real threat to wildlife on the adjacent Kennet.”

Once known as the ‘jewel in the crown’, the Kennet River running through the heart of the town is now polluted with a significant amount of litter.

Pictures show that the rubbish that is left in town centre locations include drink cans, plastic bags and food wrappers.

He added: I also popped into Morrisons in Basingstoke Road later that day and walked along the footpath between the carpark to Basingstoke Road. Once again huge amounts of litter. How can local people feel good about their local environment.”

A Reading Borough Council spokesperson said: "Reading Borough Council has a large and active team keeping the streets of Reading free from litter.

"Cleaning takes place in the town centre, around shop fronts and recycling sites from 5.30am – 7.30pm every day except Christmas Day, including litter picking and emptying street litter bins.

"Additionally, residential road cleaning takes place Monday to Friday 7.30am – 8pm, with around 1,500km of roads cleaned and 2,000 litter and dog bins emptied weekly. On average the service sweeps up around 65 tonnes of rubbish from Reading’s streets each week.

"Residents can help us to keep Reading tidy by reporting issues via the Love Clean Streets app, where you can report incidences immediately along with photographic evidence and an exact location, or by calling us on 01189 373787. Residents can also play a part in keeping Reading tidy by putting their rubbish in bins provided or taking it home with them."