A Plumstead resident has slammed the council after road sweepers failed to clean his street for five weeks.

Matt Keen, 42, said the area around Plumstead Common was becoming “a bit of a dump”, after seeing a spike in the amount of rubbish strewn in gutters.

And the common sight of street sweepers cleaning the residential road became a thing of the past, after he claims they failed to show for five weeks.

Greenwich Council has been forced to apologise over the mess, admitting that levels of cleanliness dropped in Wernbrook Street.

Mr Keen told News Shopper: “About five weeks ago I noticed our street was looking a bit shabby, someone had left a work boot in the gutter.

“I didn’t think too much of it, I thought simply someone would be sweeping the road again soon.”

News Shopper:

The road was left unswept for five weeks. Picture: Matt Keen.

As the rubbish continued to worsen Mr Keen reported the problem to Greenwich Council via social media.

He received responses assuring him that his complaint had been passed onto street services, but the gutter-full of litter continued to blight his and surrounding roads.

As a runner who regularly jogs around the borough’s streets and green spaces, Mr Keen said the problem of litter is becoming more widespread.

He added: “A lot of the roads I’m noticing have got quite a lot of litter in the gutters and the street simply aren’t being swept.

“Our road and many roads around Plumstead Common are becoming a bit of a dump.

“I don’t understand how we can go from a road sweeper going down your street daily to none in five weeks.

“Five weeks of not sweeping the street is just negligent.”

The day after News Shopper contacted Greenwich Council for a response, Mr Keen said he arrived home from a run to see a street sweeper working on his road.

A spokesman for Greenwich Council said: “The Royal Borough of Greenwich apologises for failing to ensure that Wernbrook Street has not been maintained to the highest standards of cleanliness which residents expect and deserve.

“Residential roads in the Royal Borough of Greenwich are scheduled to be swept weekly but recent operational changes have caused some delays.

“This issue is being rectified and we will ensure that Wernbrook Street is closely monitored in the future.”