BARRHEAD residents have called for action to clean up “disgusting” rubbish that is littering the town’s streets.

A growing number of people have complained about glass bottles, drinks cans, food wrappers and other garbage being dumped, turning some areas into “eyesores.”

Rosaleen Reilly, chair of Barrhead Community Council, is among those who are calling on people to take more pride in their town.

She also told how community volunteers used to stage their own litter-picking events before they were halted after concerns over health and safety were raised by East Renfrewshire Council.

Mrs Reilly said: “The litter is terrible, it’s all around the town.

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“You see children coming out of school at lunchtime and the rubbish gets flung about the place and it grieves me to think that the council then has to look at paying someone to go out and pick up all this litter.

“As a community council, we used to go and pick up the litter along the burn behind the Asda store but then it was deemed not appropriate for health and safety reasons, so we decided not to do it any longer.”

Another woman who contacted the Barrhead News to highlight the litter problem said parts of the town centre are particularly bad.

“I regularly walk through to Main Street to get my messages and then back down past the train station to get home and there is litter everywhere,” said the woman, who asked not to be named.

“It’s disgusting. I also worry about all the broken glass that is left lying on the ground, especially when there are little kids around and people are walking their dogs.

“Someone will end up cutting themselves.”

East Renfrewshire Council said its cleansing staff work hard to keep local streets tidy – and also encouraged local residents to play their part.

She added: “It is disappointing to see our public places spoiled by those who drop their litter.

“There are public bins located across East Renfrewshire and we would urge residents to ensure their rubbish is disposed of correctly.

“Our staff carry out daily litter collections at a wide range of locations across East Renfrewshire and residents can also report any specific issues via our website.”

To flag up concerns about litter, click HERE.