HOPE GLORY AND Second World War bunkers cleared after years of neglect
SECOND World War pillboxes along the Lincolnshire coast could soon become tourist attractions thanks to a team of volunteers.
The first one at Tetney Nature Reserve has been cleaned out of a load of dumped rubbish, beer cans and dog poo bags.
There was enough to fill the back of a lorry after years of neglect and people using it as a waste bin and toilet.
The sites were built in 1940 and were crucial in the darkest days of the war when there was the daily threat of invasion by German forces. The long sloping beaches of Lincolnshire were prime targets for the Nazis to bring their troops and landing forces to the UK.
They are an important part of our history, not rubbish bins. They are valuable.” Caroline Carr
Resident and director of The Fitties community investment company, Caroline Carr, said there are nine of the pillboxes dotted along the coast, with the first three in the Tetney Nature Reserve.
She enlisted Grimsby’s River Canoe Man, James Elliott, who has spent months cleaning out the River Freshney.
The bunkers have less and less litter the further away you go from the car park at Humber Yacht Club. The first one had the most due to its proximity to the car park. Caroline told Grimsby Live: “This went way beyond being a litter pick. James is an awesome fellow and we are grateful to the volunteers, Jane Rendell, Sarah Palmer and Colin Ling g for helping pg transform the site.
“It has deteriorated during the lockdown with people walking past and just throwing in their rubbish, particularly poo bags.
“We really need people to be responsible and use the bins at the car park next to the nature reserve. After all it is a site of scientific interest and there are many yp species of birds, many of them nesting at the moment and people are just using it as a dumping ground. That is not good for the birds.
“The pillbox was nasty. It was filled with beer cans and bottles and people using it as a toilet. It is so disgusting. Someone had lived in it at one p point because there was some carpet and a tie and other evidence.
But that must have been a long time ago because nothing would go in there.”
Caroline added: “There are nine along the coast and we would like to see them all cleaned up and we would like to work our way through them and work with the local authorities to get them used as heritage sites.
“They are an important part of our history, not rubbish bins. They are valuable.”
She said she and the team were extremely grateful to East Lindsey District Council staff who took away 30 bags filled with rubbish. James Elliott said the state of the first bunker was “the grimmest job” compared to the filth and rubbish he has cleared from the River Freshney. He said: “It was horrendous. It is the grimmest job I have done. It will be good when they are all done and they can be opened up for Heritage Days. They are iconic and people should respect them.”
He thanked the owner of Cromwell Tools on Grimsby’s South Humberside Industrial Estate for donating protective clothing, including, gloves, masks and a suit.