Darlington A66 laybys blighted by 'bottles of urine and boxes of faeces'

A number of laybys on the A66, between Blackwell and Symmetry Park, have been reportedly damaged by HGVs and strewn with human waste and litter.

Residents have since said they believe the issue has worsened following the opening of Amazon's 'Fulfilment Centre', but say it has been an ongoing issue in the past two years.

Speaking to The Northern Echo, Darren Honeyman said he routinely witnessed items, including human waste, being thrown from HGVs parked along the road.

SEE MORE: Drivers 'urinating' and human waste left in village near Amazon Durham

He said: "This has been going on for the past two years or so, but it seems to me since the arrival of Amazon, litter on the site has got worse - it's just a mess.

"If you're a normal motorist and needed to use the layby, you wouldn't want to use these facilities.

"The stuff they are throwing out of the trucks, I find it hard to believe if it was a motorists that they would urinate in a bottle or defecate in a box."

Mr Honeyman, who passes the laybys several times per day, raised concerns that the laybys were being destroyed from the improper use of HGVs.

He said: "If you look at the laybys, there's now damage from HGVs.

"The amount of destruction being caused, they're parking half and half on the verge - it just looks like a farmer has gone along with a furrow.

Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT

"The nearby lorry parks for overnight stays can sometimes cost hundreds of pounds, so they are coming here instead."

Mr Honeyman said the situation had become so bad over the years that one resident, Sam Walters has taken it upon himself to clear up the laybys once per week.

He said: "Every weekend, Sam will walk up that bypass, come round and clear it up.

"He's the most diligent man, he's in the bushes - he just fills bin bags and hopes that the council will remove them.

"This cannot continue, we would be wading in detritus if it wasn’t for Sam."

In response Councillor Andy Keir, Darlington Borough Council’s Cabinet member for Local Services, said the council takes littering very seriously and would seek "tough action" against offenders.

He said: “We are grateful to those who have raised this issue, and I can only applaud those community-spirited individuals who take it upon themselves to clean up after others.

“There are adequate facilities for disposal of litter along the A66, so there’s no excuse for these areas to be strewn with litter.

“We take littering very seriously and will always seek to take tough action against those who think they can get away with disrespecting our environment.

“We will work with employers in the area to work through some of the concerns that have been raised.

“I call on everyone, including those drivers using the A66 laybys regularly, to dispose of their waste responsibly and help keep Darlington clean.”

A spokesperson for Amazon added: "Amazon strives to be a good neighbour and we take this matter seriously.

"We have informed our carrier partners about the concerns raised and reminded them of the correct driver behaviour guidelines.

"We expect all of our carriers to comply with these guidelines.”