WHAT a load of rubbish. . .that's exactly what district council workers found when they trawled the River Kennet in Marlborough.

Their river clean up on Thursday was a partnership effort by Kennet District Council and Waitrose supermarket. Waitrose paid the council for the stretch of river along its car park to be cleaned.

Three workers from the Kennet technical services department did a second 100 yard stretch from the car park bridge to the Figgins Lane footbridge in front of the district council-owned car park.

Their haul included rusted bicycles, traffic cones, shopping baskets, lengths of steel pipe, barbed wire, bathroom scales, a steering wheel from an old Austin car and part of a china chamber pot.

Last week's clean-up followed on from voluntary efforts on other stretches of the river.

Vince Kimber, who carried out last week's clearance with Ralph Draper and Lorna Weighell, all from Kennet's technical services section, said they never ceased to be amazed at what people had thrown in the river.

Some of the rubbish that more than filled one council pick-up lorry was natural river-borne debris including branches and twigs.

However the vast majority, said Mr Kimber, was the result of people's couldn't care less actions and the work of vandals.

Mr Kimber said: "In places we were up to our waists and walking in deep mud. The mud was so thick you had a job to move your legs."