A 91-YEAR-OLD Christchurch resident has dismissed the area as ‘disgusting’ and questioned the glowing report by prestigious Britain in Bloom judges. Former college lecturer Eric Johnson said: “The area is an absolute disgrace.

“The pavements are never cleaned and are always strewn with rubbish.”

The Barrack Road resident said the judges must not have seen the stretch of road near his house.

He said: “I constantly have to sweep outside the houses in the area because the litter is never collected.

“It is a disgusting sight.”

The 91-year-old resident has already complained several times to Christchurch council and blasted the remarks from the South and South East England in Bloom Awards representatives.

Judges Ken Turner and Kelvin Mason were shown around the borough by Ann Simon, Christchurch council’s tourism manager and Clive Sinden, open spaces manager.

Mr Turner said: “It’s obvious that Christchurch is a well-respected and looked-after town and we were impressed by the number of volunteers involved in the different organisations.”

Ann Simon said: “It’s very noticeable that many people are involved in keeping Christchurch looking as good as it does and we’re very grateful for the work that so many members of the community do. I think everyone here can be justifiably proud of the borough and how it looks.”

Steve Burdis, director for the Dorset Waste Partnership, said: “We were not aware of any specific problems on Barrack Road and have not received any complaints about this particular issue.

“This road is well used with a number of late night takeaways, which is why we have 12 litter bins that are emptied every other day and more frequently if required.”

He said the road was inspected every three weeks, was cleaned on Wednesday and inspected again yesterday.

Christchurch is a regular winner at the awards, gaining a silver gilt and overall winner prize in the small coastal town category last year.

This year’s winners will be announced in September.