PETERSFIELD Heath needs more bins say residents, as ongoing littering blights the popular beauty spot.

The 90-acre heath and pond is managed and maintained by Petersfield Town Council, and often sees hundreds of visitors enjoying its open spaces, attractive café, play area, boats for hire and flat walks.

And there has been a marked increase in visitors since the coronavirus lockdown was eased and the new boardwalk was opened about a month ago by the council.

But regularly, especially after warm sunny days, parts of it are left covered in rubbish, allegedly pulled from overflowing bins by wildlife.

And it’s the bins between the Plump Duck café and the little sluice house on the eastern corner that are the fullest, and so the easiest for foxes, rats and birds to scavenge in for food.

Kathryn Zena Ellis Blandford works for the council and in response to angry comments on the Petersfield Pulse Facebook page about the litter, she said: “The council’s grounds team start early doors and finish mid-afternoon.

“They work tirelessly to keep all the council’s open spaces in tip-top condition.

“The grounds staff don’t work into the evening, but even if they did, The Heath is used all day and into the wee hours so the bins would soon get filled up again.

“There is so much rubbish because no-one takes it away with them when they can see the bins are already full, and that’s when the animals manage to pull stuff out.”

Foxes are often seen patrolling the heath at all hours, and in the early morning rats are a common sight along the water’s edge.

But one of the main culprits could be the seagulls that often visit the pond. They are recognised scavengers and have been spotted in Petersfield High Street attacking bin bags of rubbish left outside shops.

But dismay at the recurring mess is mainly directed at visitors who don’t take their rubbish home with them.

Petersfield resident Vanessa Croucher posted on the Facebook page: “It’s not thrown all over the place by humans – the humans overfill the bins, but it’s wildlife that has emptied and scattered it.

“I think there should be a bin empty at the end of the day rather than just morning, as that’s when the bins are over flowing.”

And long with the photos of the litter she posted, Jeannine Davies said: “Poor Petersfield pond. Our visitors brought their rubbish to our area but having made use of the contents – cakes, Johnson’s baby wipes, even an antiseptic wipe on the new boardwalk – they chose to leave their detritus as a signature from ‘lovers’ of our pond.

“Why, oh why, can’t they take their rubbish home? They had it with them on arrival. I’m disgusted and wish we could put up cameras or something.”