SIGNS featuring fun wildlife characters are coming to Dorset verges.

Dorset Council has launched the #LoveYourVerge campaign in partnership with Litter Free Dorset which aims to encourage residents and visitors to value open spaces and raise awareness of how they are individually managed due to the specific local habitat.

Signs explaining how the council is managing that particular verge and featuring a range of characters including a bumble bee, mouse, grass snake, hedgehog and grasshopper, will begin appearing across the county.

Councillor Ray Bryan, Dorset Council portfolio holder for highways, travel and environment, said: "Verges are important areas for our wildlife, and we want to continue and expand the work we've been doing to create ideal habitats for a wide variety of creatures.

"We want residents and visitors to love our verges, appreciate how important they are, understand what we are doing and take their rubbish home, so that we can keep our roads in Dorset free from litter. Keeping animal residents safe for the enjoyment of our children and future generations.

"We will, however, ensure sightlines on junctions are kept clear for safety reasons."

Earlier this month, the council launched a spring clean up of verges alongside some of the county's busiest roads, including on the A37 between Dorchester and the county boundary, following a cut back of vegetation.

Elsewhere in the county, Stapehill Road in Wimborne, the A354 Weymouth Relief Road, B3157 Granby Way, Blandford Bypass and Upton Bypass are monitored and inspected for litter, as well as having programmed litter picking throughout the year.

Councillor Jill Haynes, portfolio holder for customer and community services, said: "The volume of accumulated litter revealed by cutting back verges is always depressing, and it is incredibly frustrating that, despite our efforts, some roads become covered in litter again just weeks later, often leading to the assumption that litter picking hasn’t been done or that it won’t be done at all.

"While we have a duty to clear the litter from our roads, I would kindly ask people to remember that it is not the council who produce this waste. A small number of anti-social motorists spoil these verges for everyone by littering from vehicles and clearing it up takes valuable council resources away from essential services, when drivers could easily take their waste home."