AN ENVIRONMENTAL charity has teamed up with Scottish Borders Council to clean up the region’s roadsides.

Bosses at Keep Scotland Beautiful have joined forces with the local authority, as part of a national scheme to urge drivers to ‘give their litter a lift, and take it home’.

The campaign will see posters put up around the Borders, including in laybys on the A1 – one of the main routes into the region.

Councillor Sandy Aitchison, Scottish Borders Council’s executive member for neighbourhoods and locality services, said: “Crossing the border into Scotland on the A1 is the first sight many tourists have of the Scottish Borders and for it to be blighted by litter shows disrespect for our beautiful countryside.

“I hope this initiative with Keep Scotland Beautiful reminds people to either take their litter home or use the larger bins being trialled at the border layby.”

The two organisations will monitor the area to see if the scheme helps reduce the amount of litter.

Dr Lindsay Montgomery, who is chairman at Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: “As a Borders resident I am delighted that we have secured the support of the Scottish Borders Council for our nationwide campaign to tackle the country’s roadside litter problem.

“We recognise that to tackle this disgusting and illegal habit, we all need to work together, to raise awareness of the problem of throwing litter from a vehicle, and to trial innovative solutions to change current littering behaviours.

“Across the Scottish Borders, and the rest of Scotland, the message is simple – give your litter a lift, take it home!”