Traffic cones and tyres uncovered in river clean

Volunteers and members of the public banded together to clean a section of the River Stour in Ashford.

Targeting a section between Conningbrook and Wye, the team led by the Kent Stour Countryside Partnership (KSCP) removed 87 bags of rubbish.

As well as more than 4,000 bottles and cans, also unearthed were 14 traffic cones, seven bike tyres, two large rolls of agricultural plastic wrapping and two fire extinguishers.

Lauren Baker, Our Stour officer with KSCP, said of the April 14 effort: “The vast majority of this waste has come out of the Ashford area and has been deposited on the floodplains and banks during high water level periods.

“We found several points where trees with branches in

Traffic cones and plastic sheeting were some of the largest items to be pulled out of the river, right, kayaks were also used to get rid of the detritus that had ended up in the water

the water were collecting debris and creating dams of hundreds of pieces of litter.”

The officer also highlighted how a deposit return scheme would have stopped the thousands of bottles and cans from being dumped.

In 2018, the government agreed to implement such a scheme but this has since been delayed until 2024.

Ms Baker added: “We are in desperate need of a deposit return scheme.

The thought of waiting until 2024 for one and knowing the amount of drinks containers and other waste which will end up in our river in the meantime is terrifying.

“But we are so grateful for our volunteers and for their help in trying to reduce the flow of litter in the Stour.”

Ashford Borough Council supported the volunteers, lending litter-picking equipment and arranging for the rubbish to be taken away.

The volunteers were praised for their efforts in removing 87 bags of rubbish from the River Stour - they found 14 traffic cones, seven bike tyres, two large rolls of agricultural plastic wrapping and two fire extinguishers