A 74-year-old grandfather with a walking stick picks up 14 bottles of Buckfast and 33 cans of lager from the ground.

This is a typical scene from Onthank with pensioner James McLachlan lifting the huge haul during his regular litter pick earlier this month.

The East Ayrshire estate has been branded a “pigsty” by another concerned resident Jim Caddis.

A burnt out bin with rubbish spewing out, an abandoned pram and a broken concrete bollard lying on the ground are some of the eyesores at the Tourhill shops.

Jim, a former community development worker, has complained to East Ayrshire Council about maintenance of the area.

The former bus driver believes the estate is “neglected” by East Ayrshire Council.

He said: “They empty the bins but don’t go around the side to see if there is litter on the ground. It is definitely the minimum.

“I would like to see the shops refurbished to make it respectable looking. A lot of youngsters are running about throwing eggs at the windows.”

James’ neighbour Jim wants more regular maintenance of the area he cares about. He has exchanged around 40 emails with the council over issues.

“The neighbours are fine and it is a great area,” he said.

But the 64-year-old added: “There is nothing worse than an area of deprivation when they put up a flower basket and think everything is fine. They are not tackling the issues.

“It is about ongoing maintenance. You don’t do the work once and that is the problem solved.”

He complains about no parking being available at the shops as spaces are taken up by taxis. Jim also said grass cutting in the park opposite Newlands Drive should be more regular.

Jim  sent a to-do list to the council last year to get action on about 20 issues.

He said: “To be honest, it is not something I want to be doing in my retirement but I don’t want to live in a pigsty either.

“We want the area to look decent.”

The council is currently working on an improvement proposal called a ‘Place Plan’ for the north-west of Kilmarnock. There are more than 40 proposals to give the area a makeover.

Among the plans, officials aim to put in place measures to cut anti-social behaviour behind the Tourhill Road shops. Bosses also want to look at ways to make the area at the front of the shops “more useful and attractive.”

The council’s outdoor services manager Nick Kelly commented on the issues raised.

He said: “All areas within East Ayrshire receive the same standard and frequency of cuts which is line with our current programme and resources. This frequency is dependent on weather and ground conditions at time of programmed maintenance.

“We are also moving  towards placed-based empowered teams who will make decisions regarding frequencies in conjunction with the local community, who will as part of this process be involved in a consultation process as to the requirements for their local community.

“We also have a loan scheme in place where communities can borrow equipment to enhance our current programme and as part of this we can offer training to allow this to be carried out safely.”

Speaking about litter at the shops, Mr Kelly said: “The area behind the shops is privately owned and responsibility for litter removal falls to the owners who should put a programme in place to ensure it kept litter-free.”

And commenting on the hanging baskets, he added: “The installation of hanging baskets within this area was part of an environmental project requested by the local community group.”