Liverpool John Lennon Airport has been urged to crack down on "litterbugs" after nine bags full of rubbish were collected by volunteers in just one day.
Michael Smith, 26, from Speke, first noticed the piles of litter gathered around the famous airport when he and other plane spotters attended the 'enthusiasts corner' on Dungeon Lane, and decided to tackle the problem head-on.
He said: "A group of us come down and watch planes, and I find there's always rubbish dumped there and the airport won't do anything about it. So a few of us came together to try and stop this rubbish being dumped and keep the area tidy - because it's attracting rats.
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"There's a lot of gas canisters down there. Sometimes the problem is plane spotters themselves, dumping cans of beer, Lucozade bottles and crisp packets. But it's also people in the community, instead of taking their rubbish to the tip they come down here during the night. It's mostly gas canisters, cigarettes and lighters."
He has now called on the airport to address the ongoing problem by using CCTV to track down the litterbugs.
"There are notices on the fences for fines for dumping - but they have no way of tracking down who is actually doing it, so it keeps happening," he said.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Penny Lane Wombles, a local litter-picking group, called the amount of rubbish "shameful" and called on the airport to "take responsibility" after identifying the offending gas canisters as containers of nitrous oxide (laughing gas).
They said: "Two carloads full of NOS canisters from your land at Viscount Drive, Speke - plus more for me to go back when the ice melts Plus the rest of the litter.
"Is this what you want your private jet clients to see when they arrive in Liverpool? This whole area needs litter picking properly and monitoring properly - take some responsibility for this."
Michael said: "Every time we come down we've picked up bits and bobs, but the next day or even a few hours later there's more coming in, dumping rubbish, and it affects the plants as well at times, with crisp packets flying over the fence. It's about time the airport did something about it. We came down the other day and there were about 200 gas canisters. The bins were overflowing.
"You don't want families coming down here seeing that. It's disgusting. You don't want people coming here thinking Liverpool is a dump, seeing all this rubbish attracting rats. You don't want people to be turning away from the airport, you want to bring more in."
An Airport spokesperson commented: “Both during and after the pandemic the Airport has been carrying out a monthly programme of litter picks around the airport site including on numerous occasions the area used by enthusiasts to view aircraft.
"The latest litter pick was due to take place last week but the poor weather meant this wasn’t possible, however Michael’s efforts and those of his fellow enthusiasts in the meantime is much appreciated.
"We are aware that it is not the aircraft enthusiasts littering these areas but others, some of whom appear to be dumping other rubbish as well as litter in this area usually at night. We plan on working with Michael and his enthusiast colleagues to carry out further litter picks next month to keep this area tidy."
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