Over 20 residents of all ages rolled up their sleeves last Sunday morning for the GRH litter pick. Organised as part of the GRH Committee’s annual schedule of events, this year timed to support Keep Britain Tidy’s national Great Brish Spring Clean campaign.

The team assembled in the bright March sunshine, eager to get going. Introductions were made, litter pickers, bags and gloves distributed and after a couple of key safety reminders people headed in all directions to give our roads, footpaths and Chase Green Gardens a good clean up.

Some residents took the opportunity to grab kit from home and clear our stretch of the New River of litter with numerous plastic bread bags, packaging and even a pram cover pulled from the water. A quacking result!

Other interesting items found thrown into the bushes and shrub beds included a mountain bike frame, traffic cone, shopping basket and some old pants!

Overflowing bins were also skimmed of litter and emptied, footpaths swept of old leaves and twigs, cigarette butts diligently picked up and in little over an hour the area had been visibly transformed!

Over 20 bags of litter and sweepings as well as flytipped items were collected. These were presented neatly for the council’s street cleansing team who came the next morning.

The visibility of the team working sent a clear message to those passing by that littering is not tolerated in our neighbourhood. The efforts were appreciated as people waved, stopped to say thank you and asked if they could take part in future events.

At the end of the session, while enjoying well earned cold refreshments and chatting about interesting finds the mood was positive with attendees reflecting on how much they enjoyed taking part and felt a sense of satisfaction in the team’s efforts.