THE organiser of the Oxford Half Marathon has apologised after bottles were left strewn along Iffley Road following Sunday’s event.

Dave Box has said he will address the problem and it will not happen again next year.

Mr Box said: “There should have been more recycling bins provided.

“Next year we need to make sure there are far more recycling bins.

“We also need to make sure all the rubbish is cleaned up within two hours.

“We will address this without fail for next year and it will never happen again.”

Mr Box added that residents in the city were still getting used to the event, which is only in its third year.

Iffley Road resident Adrian Greenwood complained about the mess on his street.

He said: “The road was covered in bottles. There were very few bins and no one was picking them up, which I thought was pretty poor.

“It is a worthwhile event but I think this gives it a bad name.”

About 5,500 registered for the sold-out event, but only 3,507 finished.

Mr Box said this was because there is always a drop-out rate from such events, adding that another 800 runners did not turn up due to the wet weather.