Commuters to and from the Bournemouth area will now benefit from a cleaner journey following a deep clean of the road, verges and gullies last week.

Staff from BCP Council and Dorset Council spent three nights litter picking, road sweeping and gully cleansing the 6.8 miles stretch of the A338 Spur Road from the Cooper Dean roundabout to the Ashley Heath roundabout.

Diversions were put in place as the road was closed in both directions from 9pm to 6am on Wednesday March 24 to Friday March 26 while the work took place.

Councillor Mark Anderson, Portfolio Holder for Environment, Cleansing and Waste, BCP Council said: “Our team have made a huge effort this week to perform a major clear up of rubbish on the A338, which included waste thrown from vehicles and fly tipping.

"Thoughtless acts of rubbish disposal like these are really disappointing as it spoils the environment and takes time, money and effort to clear.

“In total fourteen staff from BCP and Dorset Councils took part in the clear up.”

The deep cleansing of one of Bournemouth's main arterial roads comes a week prior to the start of the Easter holidays, where thousands of visitors are expected to descend on the Dorset town following the easing of lockdown restrictions today.

Items collected from the cleansing of the Spur Road included several car tyres, rucksacks, large plastic containers and skip bags.

BCP Council uploaded a photograph of the pile of plastic bags and large items cleared from the A338 northbound section overnight on Wednesday, which received a rousing response from residents.

During the road closures, council staff also cleaned Bournemouth's 'Welcome to Bournemouth' and ‘Safe Journey’ sign on the footbridge over the A338.

Cllr Anderson added: “We are committed to protecting and enhancing our natural environment and we’re addressing the issue of litter across our conurbation through our Cleaner, Greener, Safer campaign that aims to bring back a sense of pride to our area.

“We treat instances of littering and fly-tipping very seriously and anyone caught dumping rubbish can be fined.

“We want people to be proud to live in this area, and by having cleaner roads and seeing people actively cleaning our streets will hopefully encourage people not to drop litter and bring back a sense of pride in our place.”