Volunteers clearing land near Durham Railway Station say they have uncovered “decades of discarded litter” just yards from where rail passengers arrive into the city.
Graham James, said that over the last couple of months he's uncovered cans dating back to 2004, hundreds of train tickets, old Nokia phones, prison-dispatched pill pots and golf clubs from McDonald’s in Disneyland Paris.
Graham believes rubbish on an embankment by the station has been left to build up for years, despite being a key gateway into Durham.
In social media posts, the volunteers have expressed frustration at the lack of litter bins in and around Durham Station, calling on both Durham Council and London North Eastern Railway (LNER), which manages the station, to do more.
They say that "between Durham County Council and LNER, far more can be done to improve the welcome for visitors and tourists into the city".
In one post, Graham posted photos of litter collected from around a bus stop beside the station, describing the visitors' first sight as a "smashed up old bus stop to welcome you, graffitied and broken glass along with a faulty digital board, surrounded by decades of discarded litter!"
However, an LNER spokesperson told the Northern Echo the land is not LNER land.
"There have been numerous times LNER volunteers have done litter picks around the station to keep the area clear," a spokesperson said.
"As a company, we're passionate about what happens to our rubbish and anything that can get recycled does get recycled - from rubbish in our stations to rubbish from our trains."
Durham County Council has said it will "increase enforcement and monitoring in the area".
Jeff Talbot, clean and green manager at the council, said: "We would like to thank the volunteers for the litter picking they have undertaken, which is on top of the work our clean and green team does on paths and other land we maintain in this area every day."
"We do share people’s frustrations when litter is dropped anywhere in our council area.
"We take our responsibility for tackling this seriously and issued over a thousand fixed penalty notices for littering last year."
They added that the area around the station had not previously been brought to their attention as a particular hot spot, but will "ensure this location is a focus for future enforcement."
Mr Talbot said the council routinely monitors and empties bins along roads and public paths under its responsibility.
Graham said he and other volunteers filled ten bags with waste collected from behind the single bus stop beside the station.
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Graham said: "We opened a can of worms, and many cans of Monster, Redbull, Stella, Strongbow - years and years of rubbish, with our earliest can from 2004."
Mr James has also identified empty BuzzBallz cocktails as "the new vapes", saying "they are impossible to pick up".
On June 14, Graham says he collected 20 of the pocket-sized drinks in one day.
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