Atia, 6, planning a ton of tidying...
A DETERMINED Warwickshire youngster has taken it upon herself to clean up the rising levels of rubbish dumped in her local area.
Six-year-old Atia Mallabone was on a family walk when she saw litter pickers tidying up near her home in North Warwickshire.
Curious about what they were doing, Atia asked her mum who explained they were helping protect the local environment and wildlife.
Immediately Atia, along with her mum Flic Turner and dad Lloyd Mallabone set off on a litter pick from their Atherstone home.
And over one weekend, she walked from Atherstone to Witherley and back again, filling up seven full bags of rubbish.
Speaking to the Telegraph after a busy day at school, Atia revealed why she started litter picking and how she plans to do “100 more” cleaning trips.
“It took a long time, we went through the village, we went up to the park, and we took some snacks,” she said.
“We found beer cans, tissues, wet wipes and nappy bags, and a sponge – I got the biggest one!”
A keen fan of nature documentaries, Atia said she wants to go out “100 more times” to clean up litter.
Litter pickers are often referred to as ‘Wombles,’ named after the fictional characters from the show The Wombles, who spent much of their day cleaning up Wimbledon Common.
The Telegraph has heard from similar groups across the region, including Coventry Clean Up, who have resorted to grabbing their litter pickers and cleaning up their neighbourhood.
Increased use of green spaces during lockdown has only added to the amounts of rubbish being dumped, but this has been an ongoing problem.
Warwickshire’s country roads are not only notorious for car litter being dumped out of windows, but also fly-tipping.
Just last week, more than seven tonnes of litter were picked-up from the A444 in a huge council blitz of the litter hot spots in the county.
Atia’s mum Flic said she and partner Lloyd jumped on Atia’s enthusiasm and immediately ordered litter pickers so they could get started.
“We’re planning to go out on a walk again. We went on a family walk after she had done the litter pick, and spotted more rubbish, so the plan is to do that route next,” she said.
“We’re just super proud. She’s a very determined six-year-old, very strong-willed. It’s nice to see her strong-willed and do something that will help protect the environment.” 100 LITTER PICKS