AN astounding 217 supermarket trolleys have been spotted on one day in the canal alongside Kiddermin-ster's prestigious shopping development at Weavers Wharf.

Many of them had sunk to the bottom of the waterway but pensioner, Bob Lloyd, was able to count them as he walked along the towpath from McDonalds to Tesco.

He said three were from Marks & Spencer but the rest belonged to supermarket giant, Tesco.

"They've made it so beautiful down there, it's such a shame that all these trolleys have been thrown into the canal," said Mr Lloyd, who added shoppers had to wait for trolleys to be collected and taken to the supermarket entrance.

The water was very clear the day he counted the dumped trolleys because the canal was closed to boats while repairs were carried out at the lock off Mill Street.

"What with stones being thrown at boats last summer and the damage trolleys do to them it's no wonder a lot of the boats don't want to moor up in Kidderminster," added Mr Lloyd, of Crestwood Avenue.

Eugene Baston, of British Waterways - BW - said the dumping of trolleys in canals was a serious problem and retailers, nationally, were refusing to pay the cost of recovery.

He explained under the Government's "polluter pays" policy, BW was working to get a national agreement to make retailers pay.

"It costs tens of thousands of pounds for BW to recover, store and return these trolleys, which cause damage to wildlife and to boats," said Mr Baston.

"It also stops us from being able to look after the canals as well as we would like."

He urged supermarkets and DIY stores to introduce measures such as "magic barriers" at exits and coin-operated deposit systems to stop their trolleys being removed.

"It's a shame that shops like Tesco are not taking a more responsible attitude to their community and the wildlife," he added.

Tesco press officer, Katie Jenkins, said: "It is in nobody's interest to have trolleys in the canal.

"They are expensive and we want them at our stores for our customers.

"Whenever we receive reports of trolleys outside of the store we will go and collect them.

"As these trolleys would not normally have been visible, we would not have known to collect them.

"However, we will send our contractor to take a look at this stretch of water to see what can be done.

"We do have a number of measures in place across our stores to combat trolley theft, including magnetic locking mechanisms, and these, on the whole, discourage people taking them away.

"However, it is a sad indictment of society that there are people still determined to steal or vandalise trolleys and who will find a way to do it."