TESCO in Great Dunmow has been rapped by residents who are fed up of having to put up with the sight of waste outside their store. The problem was originally highlighted at a meeting of the Dunmow Society, who sent a letter to the supermarket regarding th

TESCO in Great Dunmow has been rapped by residents who are fed up of having to put up with the sight of waste outside their store.

The problem was originally highlighted at a meeting of the Dunmow Society, who sent a letter to the supermarket regarding the amount of rubbish found littering the area.

Christine Minton, of Dunmow High Street, said: "There is considerable litter on and near the premises. Whilst Tesco cannot be held responsible for the large amounts of rubbish discarded by the public, surely a big company like this should make an effort to keep its site clean and tidy."

Great Dunmow Tesco store manager, Paul Westwood, admitted the site has a litter problem but said that staff at his store are committed to tackling the issue.

He said: "Each day our store cleaners spend a great deal of time cleaning rubbish and litter from around our site, also a monthly contractor spends three to four hours clearing the landscaped areas of any rubbish."

Dunmow Society chairman Mike Foster thanked Tesco for replying and indicated that the society is happy that Tesco will try to improve things further.

He said: "Now that the issue has been raised and Tesco are aware of the problem, we will be happy to give the store time for improvements, it may well be that if Great Dunmow goes plastic bag free that the situation will be helped further."

l MEANWHILE, Mr Westwood has announced the store will be supporting Dunmow's bid to go plastic bag free.

He said: "We are reviewing carrier bag usage at the store in order to support the views of residents and our environmental impact at large. We encourage customers to re-use their own bags, for which they receive club card points."

The next meeting of the Dunmow Society will be on February 18 and secretary Mrs Minton said they hope to discuss the improvements Tesco have already made.