As part of the town council's
Pride in Pickering campaign,
which is backed by the
Mercury, the town's
Churches Together were
joined by Cllr Julie
Hepworth, who chairs the
council's litter group and
some local residents for the
litter pick.
Armed with litter pickers
supplied by Ryedale Council
they split up into three
squads to target areas identified
by residents as "grot
spots" – mainly in the town
centre and Eastgate – and
within an hour had collected
15 bags of rubbish.
John Boardman for Hope08
– a nationwide initiative
which aims to demonstrate
the Christian faith in action
with acts of kindness in local
communities, said: "This is a
great turn out and after collecting
15 bags of litter, many
of the group feel they would
like to do it quarterly. It was
very worthwhile."
Cllr Hepworth was equally
pleased with the response.
She said: "It was wonderful
to see all the volunteers
spread around town and
making such a difference. I
am delighted that they have
offered to do this again every
three months.
"Thanks to Rydedale
District Council Commercial
Services for their co-operation
in lending the pickers
and clearing away the bags of
rubbish. They provided an
excellent service."
But Cllr Hepworth said it
was disheartening to see so
many cigarette butts on pavements
outside pubs because
of the ban on smoking
inside.
She intends to write to
Ryedale Council, which is
responsible for licensed
premises, urging that letters
be sent to licensees asking
them to do something about
the problem.
? WHAT do you think about
the amount of litter being
dropped on Ryedale streets?
Write to Malton and Pickering
Mercury, 49 Market Place,
Malton YO17 7LX, email
sheila.elgey @yrnltd.co.uk or
text MPMEDITOR with your
message, name and address
to 81800. texts cost 25p plus
your normal network rate. See
public notices for full details.
Pride group collect 15
bags of litter in an hour!
? Some of the bags collected by the group