SAINSBURY’S has apologised for litter swamping its supermarket car park in Kidlington and blowing into the local environment.

Thousands of plastic bags, blue gloves and other pieces of litter have covered paths, trees and alleyways surrounding the store recently.

Stephen Thatcher, who lives with his wife in Kidlington, said he was 'furious' about the problem.

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The 64-year-old, who has lived in the village all his life said little has been done to clear the unsightly litter.

Mr Thatcher said: “We’ve been complaining about it for a number of years and we were just not getting anywhere.”

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He added: “A lot of the blue gloves and rubbish are ending up in trees, gardens and as far as Gosford Hill two miles away and all around the Kidlington roundabout.

“From an environmental point of view somebody is not doing a very good job.”

Mr Thatcher said he has seen thousands of plastic bags and blue gloves in the hedgerows.

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Despite Mr Thatcher seeing some litter pickers in the area recently, he said the rubbish problem was not going away.

In anger Mr Thatcher decided to take matters into his own hands and do some litter picking himself.

He said: “I’ve picked up four bags full of rubbish from the trees and it was back a week later.”

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Mr Thatcher has continued to see stacks of rubbish around the Sainsbury’s sign and he is concerned the litter will affect the surrounding environment of Kidlington.

He said: “We’re all trying to stop plastic entering the environment. Do they really care about the environment?

"I don’t know – I think they are just interested in profit.”

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Cherwell district councillor for Kidlington Ian Middleton was at the supermarket yesterday and watched a group of litter pickers who had been subcontracted by Sainsbury's hard at work.

The Green Party councillor said: “I think it is an accumulation of rubbish over a period of time, the subcontractors are doing a sterling job, they have been here since seven this morning.”

Mr Middleton said residents should be taking more pride in their local environment and stop littering.

He said: “Littering in this country is a big problem, people litter in hedgerows and are dumping stuff out of their cars.”

He added: “I don’t think we have a national pride in our environment.

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“We need a bit of a national campaign to start taking a bit more pride in our whole environment.

“Not just in terms of our wildlife but in terms of how we treat our streets and urban environments.”

Sainsbury’s yesterday apologised for the 'inconvenience caused' by the ugly and damaging waste and said it was 'in the process' of clearing the litter.

A spokesperson said: “We’re in the process of clearing the area and are sorry for the inconvenience this has caused.

"We have litter and recycling bins at our Kidlington store so that customers can dispose of their rubbish responsibly."