A PETERSFIELD resident for more than 30 years has labelled plans to make the town the headquarters of the South Downs National Park 'a joke'.
Pamela Fleming (64), of Stafford Road, felt some areas of Petersfield were blighted by plastic bags and overflowing rubbish bins which made a mockery of claims to become the home of the South Downs.
Mrs Fleming believed the authorities had not don
e enough to clean the town since the heavy snow earlier this month, leaving streets such as Sandringham Road in an untidy state.
She said: "I have lived in Petersfield for about 30 years and I have never seen it look so dirty and filthy.
"There are piles and piles of plastic bags everywhere and overflowing bins.
"It really is awful and I find it so disappointing - I have never seen it so bad."
Mrs Fleming said Sandringham Road was particularly bad, with rubbish falling out of bins.
She blamed the problems on private landlords not informing their tenants over what waste should be put in which bin.
Her other complaint was the state of the hedgerows along public footpaths in Petersfield.
"I am pretty appalled by the behaviour of the authorities over this," she said.
"There is all sorts of stuff in the hedgerows and they do not seem to get looked after anymore.
"I am telling you, this is not the image of the South Downs that you would want to promote.
"I have travelled around the world to Thailand, India, Laos and South East Asia and I have seen it where people do not have the chance to clear it.
"But we have got the means to clear it up in this country - rubbish should be collected and I think it is so disappointing."
EHDC spokesman Will Parsons said the bins had been collected in Sandringham Road and any bins which had been filled incorrectly were noted down by collection teams.
