A STAGGERING amount of rubbish was found dumped in the River Salwarpe by litter pickers at the weekend.

In promoting the efforts of their work the Keep Britain Tidy and Droitwich Spa Litter Squad have highlighted the “astonishing” amount of rubbish they discovered in the river on Sunday.

They found seven broken shopping trolleys, one large builders trolling, four bikes, two child scooters, six traffic cones and one sign, a large bag of builders rubbish and a further five bags of rubbish in just two hours.

Karen Blanchfield, Keep Britain Tidy’s litterheroes ambassador, said: “I was invited to join the Droitwich Spa Litter squad on their litter pick endeavours.

"The A38 Ombersley/Chawson island lay-by were litter picked and an area of the River Salwarpe was cleared of rubbish.

“This river rubbish had previously been reported to the group by local residents and members.

“In the two hours we were there two members entered the River Salwarpe in full protection gear assisted by members on the bank with ropes and tackle, and cleared an astonishing amount.

"The River Salwarpe was flowing a lot better after the removal of this rubbish. Everybody thoroughly enjoyed themselves and we were thanked by a number of locals who stopped and were filming from the bridge overpass.

“The amount of waste cleared from the environment was shocking especially seeing just how long it had remained in the river. We estimate that some of the items have remained there for decades and unfortunately this is very common for litter pickers to see.

"Wychavon council have a supportive relationship with all their districts litter picking groups and support all their efforts by collecting the waste where the volunteers leave it for collection.

"It is extremely important that we educate the children through schools and community groups to ensure individual litter behaviours change in the future.

“I was extremely honoured to be invited to participate in an incredibly difficult but inspirational litter pick with The Droitwich Litter Squad. Their achievements have improved a beautiful area for the wildlife.”