Smarten Up Hungerford project volunteers report finding human waste and syringes in Hungerford clean up

A team of volunteers is encountering everything from human waste to syringes in Hungerford.

John Willmott, co-ordinator of the Smarten Up Hungerford project, relayed the grim news at a recent meeting of Hungerford Town Council’s highways and transport committee.

He said: “It’s really quite disgusting.”

The human waste is believed to come from lorry drivers who park for the night in the layby at Charnham Park.

But Mr Willmott revealed: “There’s also syringes.

“And if that road is allowed to be used [for overnight stops] then someone should be providing facilities.

“The trouble is, if you install a portaloo, then someone has to service it.

“But is shouldn’t be the job of Smarten Up Hungerford to be picking up human excrement.”

The issue of lorry drivers reportedly using the hedgerows of Charnham Park was first raised in the Newbury Weekly News in 2018.

There was more discussion in 2021, when town mayor Helen Simpson said residents continued to report “bottles of urine and faeces in carrier bags” being dumped in the road, on pavements and in hedgerows.

She added: “One lady doing a litter pick was disgusted by what she found.

“It’s not a one-off because it’s been on the agenda before.

“It’s absolutely disgusting and I don’t know what the answer is.”