Leyland's litter-pickers clean up in town centre spree

A wildlife group in Leyland is waging war against street litter with the help of South Ribble Borough Council - and they certainly won the first battle last weekend.
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Leyland in Bloom had their first in-person gathering in a long time recently and decided it was time to take to the streets of the town and do their bit for the environment.

On Saturday, 15 courageous community champions braved the biblical downpour and collected 20 bags full of litter, and that was during just two hours near the town centre.

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The group plan to continue their efforts on the first Saturday of every month using litter pickers, bin bags, and other equipment provided by the council.

The Leyland In Bloom litter-pickersThe Leyland In Bloom litter-pickers
The Leyland In Bloom litter-pickers

Debbie Noblett, Vice-Chair of Leyland in Bloom, told the Lancashire Post all about their exploits and why their work is so important.

“Big companies, supermarkets and takeaways should try and think more about how they package food and have more bins around so that people don’t just chuck their rubbish on the floor when they’ve finished eating. The amount of food packages we cleaned up was unbelievable.”

While most of the group’s members are in the eighties, they did benefit from the assistance of the younger generations, with one eight-year-old helper giving a golden performance.

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“The education behind it is that if adults see children at eight picking the litter up, they might not drop litter in the first place.

“It was absolutely throwing it down, but we were still out there, and we have lots of people wanting to join in with the next litter pick.”

Litter is a problem nationally and is prevalent in the Lancashire area. While it usually looks harmless, its impact is devastating. According to the RSPCA, litter harms at least 5,000 animals in England and Wales every year, and they’re just the animals they know about.

In the five years leading up to September 2020, at least 600 animals were injured or caught up in litter in Lancashire. According to data gathered by In Your Area, South Ribble Borough Council were one of 80 councils across England to not issue a single litter-related fine in 2020, even though they issued them in previous years.

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Threats to animals include cuts, damaged limbs, poisoning, suffocation, strangling, and choking. This is the price animals pay for human laziness.

For this reason, the good deeds of groups such as Leyland in Bloom is essential, both for the pleasantness of the town and the safety of our pets and other animals.

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