WEEDS and rubbish on a main route into Melksham are giving visitors a bad impression of the town, according to councillors.

Melksham Town Council has received a number of complaints about the state of the A350 Western Way approach into Melksham from the Chippenham direction.

The town council discussed the problem at its meeting on Monday, with one councillor calling for street art to be installed.

Assistant town clerk Jo Campbell said: "We've had phone calls just about the fact that when you're driving in it does not look nice and it is not inviting or encouraging people to visit our town."

Councillors fear the location of the weeds means the overgrown mess is one of the first things people see and that it could put them off stopping in Melksham, damaging trade for local businesses.

The issue of weeds and mounting rubbish has been an ongoing problem in the town for a number of years.

Highway maintenance is the responsibility of Wiltshire County Council, so the town council has been unable to authorise any clear-up campaign. Cllr Adrienne Westbrook said: "Wiltshire County Council will not let us do anything because of health and safety regulations.

"It's in an appalling state and does not look good coming into our town."

Cllr Davina Griffin added: "The county council has been less than helpful at best and they have an obligation to make the place look tidy and it really does need tidying up.

"I think this would be an ideal location for some street art and we need to say to the (county) council, tidy it up and come to us for some alternative suggestions about what could be put there'."

The council agreed to write to County Hall, saying the weeds need removing because they are having a damaging impact on Melksham.

However a spokesman for the county council said this week that weed clearing in Melksham is on their agenda.

He said: "We will be carrying out the weed clearance work during the week commencing October 23, which is half term. As we will need to close both outside lanes of traffic to do the weeding, we will also be using the gully emptier and a machine that cleans the sides of the roads at the same time."