A parking area used by lorry drivers near a popular roadside cafe has once again become rancid, just months after it was closed for weeks for a deep clean.

The unofficial lorry park just off the A2, in Marling Way, Gravesend, is littered with abandoned tyres, food waste, plastic bags, cardboard boxes and other rubbish, and the on-site skip is overflowing.

Highways England owns the site and closed it for a major clean-up on March 24. It was a month before it reopened due to the severity of the filth.

But taxpayers’ money spent on it has proved futile and road bosses are being urged to find a long-term solution.

Cllr Rob Halpin (Lab), who represents Singlewell ward where the site is based, said: “If you have this problem you have got to fix it in a sustainable manner.

“The big problem is lorry drivers have no welfare amenities there like access to toilets.”

The lorry park is opposite Nell’s Cafe, a popular stop.

Cllr Halpin said: “Nell’s Cafe is the last but one service station for lorry drivers before they hit the coast, so it’s very important that lorry drivers have access to amenities.”

Last time the site needed cleaning, specialist cleaners had to be brought in to deal with human waste, rats and oil.

Highways England is looking to come up with a longer term solution. A spokesman said: “We are disappointed that this anti-social behaviour of dropping litter has continued.

"We are in talks with our contractor to see if a longer term solution can be found. In the meantime we urge everyone to take their litter home with them.”

Its contractors already collect more than 150,000 sacks of litter a year as part of routine maintenance, at a cost of £40 per sack.

If another deep clean is required, lorry drivers would have to go to Medway or Thurrock in Essex for the nearest service station with parking.