SHOPPERS who take trollies before dumping them across Colchester have been branded “anti-social morons”.

Sir Bob Russell, the town’s High Steward, has called for legislation to force supermarkets to collect trollies.

Supermarkets and the council work together to try to return the discarded trollies but some are never claimed and have to be stored before being disposed of.

A compound behind the visitor centre at High Woods Country Park is used to store some left dumped on council property.

Sir Bob said: “People who abandon shopping trollies are anti-social morons. It is good most supermarkets and the council have an arrangement for trollies to be collected before they end up in the river but it is disappointing that not all companies are.

“The Government should bring in legislation to make such a collection scheme mandatory and for people who dump trollies to be fined for theft.”

A spokesman for Colchester Council urged people not to take trollies. He said: “Dumped trolleys blight the environment and put an additional strain on our resources to deal with.

“We would urge shoppers not to take trolleys off site and for the public to report any abandoned ones to Trolleywise or the relevant local supermarket, so they can be collected and returned.”