A MAN donned a banana suit for his annual litter pick along the A37, collecting more than 40 bags of rubbish along the way as he raised money for charity.

Kevin Doherty, 53, was inspired to clean up the A37 after driving along it everyday and seeing the sides of the road strewn with rubbish.

Last year he donned his banana suit and walked from Yeovil to Dorchester, picking up litter as he went. He collected 44 bags of rubbish and vowed he would return the next year to clean up the other side of the road.

True to his word, Mr Doherty left Dorchester at 4am last Saturday and collected 43 bags of rubbish from then until he arrived in Yeovil at 7pm.

He said: "I had unfinished business from last year, I wanted to do both sides of the road but I couldn't believe how much rubbish there was. I had to come back this year to finish the job.

"The banana suit is for a bit of fun but also, because it's quite a dangerous road, it makes me very visible for the traffic.

"The amount of wildlife that gets killed by litter and getting trapped in rubbish is awful. I drive up and down that road on a daily basis because I run my own car transport business and when you see it every day you just want to do something about it.

Dorset Echo: He quipped the bright yellow suit makes him 'very visible for the traffic'He quipped the bright yellow suit makes him 'very visible for the traffic'

"On the Sunday I then went through all of the stuff and we managed to recycle about 40 per cent of all the litter."

After setting up a fundraising page for his challenge, he has managed to raise more than £1,200 for his chosen charity, Beneath the Woods.

Mr Doherty, who is from Yeovil, added: "Beneath the Wood Animal Sanctuary have literally become a lifeline to dogs with behavioural issues that would have otherwise been destroyed along with various other farm animals offering them a forever home without threat of slaughter."

He has vowed to make this litter pick an annual event now, with a new charity every year. To donate to his fundraiser this year, please head to donorbox.org and search for Kevin Doherty.