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Fly-tippers who thought they could get away with dumping rubbish were escorted back 20 miles to pick up their mess.

Their car was spotted on CCTV on the M6 in an emergency refuge area. They then got out and started throwing takeaway wrappers and plastic bottles on the side of the road.

Camera operators contacted police who stopped them further along the motorway.

They made them turn around at the next junction then escorted them all the way back to tidy it up.

PC Nick James said: ‘The rubbish was mainly things like takeaway wrappings and plastic bottles which can be easily recycled or disposed of safely at home. 

‘We reminded the culprits that stopping on a motorway to drop rubbish off isn’t the smartest move, especially when they’re being watched on CCTV.’

The culprits – who were travelling northbound through Staffordshire – had committed a double offence, as they had pulled into a bay reserved for emergencies on a stretch of road with no hard shoulder.

Highways England’s senior network planner, Frank Bird, called it a ‘blatant and reckless abuse’ of an important roadside safety area.

He said: ‘We watched the whole incident unfold on our CCTV system in our control room and then quickly passed it to the police who were able to stop the vehicle and escort them safely back to the emergency area to tidy up their mess.

‘We continue to work closely with our police colleagues who enforce issues like this and we’d remind people to take their litter home and dispose of it safely.’

The pair got away with a ticking off – as well as a needless 40-mile round trip – but their details will be kept on file by Environmental Health officers in case they’re caught doing it again.

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