A WORRIED dog owner has noticed an increase in littering at a park and is concerned about the safety of children and animals.

Rod Follit takes his lurcher, Bob, on walks to Mannington Recreation Ground a couple times every day.

But since the coronavirus lockdown he has noticed littering has become a growing problem.

The 50-year-old said: "There's litter spread everywhere, there's two entrances to that park and there's bins by both of them, so I don't understand why it's so bad.

"It has happened before, pre Covid-19, but very rarely. At the moment it seems to be happening more often, the other day it looked like someone had a picnic after ordering McDonald's and just left it there.

"Both the bins have always had space in them when I see the litter spread across the field, no effort has been made to keep it clean."

But he is more worried about the safety of others than he is about how it looks.

He said: "A lot of people go to the park, children and dog owners, and they could get cut on cans or they might pick something up or even attempt to eat the food left over.

"I don't know if it's kids or adults doing it but there's just no reason for it. It really does make the place look untidy and it's not great for the wildlife there."

After sharing a post on Facebook people were angry at the state of the park in Bridgemead.

A woman who commented on the post explained how she had spent time picking up rubbish when she visited last week.

Another commented on how worried they were for the wildlife.

"It seems lockdown has caused more people to litter. I suspect it is more people deciding they want to get out of the house and go for a picnic. It seems people have got into the habit of not picking up after themselves," he said.

"Sometimes I take the muzzle off my dog when there aren't other dogs around and he can be quick so who knows if he will eat something like chocolate and he could die.

"I just wish people would stop doing this because you wouldn't treat your own home like this."

Central Swindon North Parish Council has been contacted by the Adver for comment.