A 'DISAPPOINTING' amount of flytipping was discovered by a litter picking group.

The Evesham Town Plan Anti-Litter Group conducted another litter pick along the riverside, discovering an upsetting amount of rubbish along the path.

The group also discovered a large amount of fly-tipped material on Blind Lane and even a bike dumped in the river.

Gerry O’Donnell, Chairman of the group and local Councillor, commented: “It’s disappointing to see the level of fly-tipped material in Evesham. The costs that are incurred in hiring equipment to remove this could easily be prevented by a quick trip to the waste and recycling centre on Piddle Brook Lane and it takes away funding that could be spent on other services.”

On the morning of Saturday 1st September, a large group of 15 gathered, including younger members of the community along with a representative from McDonald's. They met on The Sports Club car park before splitting up and heading towards Hampton Ferry in one direction and Tesco and PJ Laight in the other.

As the volunteers picked onto the Worcester Road to the edge of the town limit, they discovered that, while the path was clear in some places, it was quite heavily littered, especially where the path met the boundary of Sankey Marine. Over the course of an hour and a half, the group picked a shocking 19 large bags of litter.

The group discovered that most of the litter is caused by fishing and picnicking, including waste from cooking fires. As a result, most of the group’s bin bags were filled with beer cans and plastic bottles amongst other picnic and fishing debris.

Mr O’Donnell said; “We’re glad to see residents and visitors enjoying the local area. However, it is evident that they are not respecting the land as much as they should be. Leaving behind waste after enjoying our green spaces is not only disrespectful to the environment, but it ruins the space for everyone else.”

The Evesham Town Plan Anti-Litter Group would like to extend their thanks to the volunteers who supported them on Saturday.

They also want to thank the local businesses who are getting involved, including McDonald's, Tesco, Rooftop Housing Association and the Probation Service. A key part to the Anti-Litter Group is education, and businesses are key in sharing information with their customers.