A SUPERMARKET today pledged to clean-up a swathe of litter, which has built up and turned part of the countryside around York into an eyesore.

Shrink-wrap plastic sheeting has been littering trees, bushes and hedgerows at the back of Asda's Monks Cross store for weeks.

Supermarket bosses - and local residents - got fed up with the unsightly mess along the 50-metre stretch of road, and decided to do something about it.

This weekend, ASDA cleaners will use a cherry picker to pluck the commercial litter from the trees and dispose of it. The supermarket has promised to keep an eye on the site to make sure it stays tidy in the future.

Garry Kelly, manager of the store, said: "Everyone here at the store has been conscious of all the mess. A lot of it arrived with the high winds we had in February.

"We have tried to keep the site clean, but it's been a constant battle.

"We asked City of York Council to provide a quote to clean it all up and advise us on health and safety issues, and they said they could do it for £3,500.

"We thought that sounded rather expensive, so we have hired a special cherry picker that can operate on soft land for Saturday and Sunday, and we will go round and do it ourselves. All the litter that comes from Monks Cross seems to blow towards us, and with the site being behind our store we tended to get the blame for it. Now we have decided to sort it out once and for all - and we will endeavour to keep it that way."

Tony Hamill, of Church Road, Osbaldwick, was one of a number of people who contacted the Evening Press to complain about the mess.

He and others who have seen the litter were so angry about the eyesore they said they were prepared to tidy it up themselves.

Mr Hamill, who drives past the site on his way home, said: "We just want the mess removing, and someone has to take responsibility for it."

Updated: 08:43 Tuesday, April 19, 2005