Everything, including the kitchen sink, has been dumped in river

The precious River Stour is a jewel in the crown of the east Kent countryside, offering a haven for wildlife and peaceful recreation for residents.

But a nature charity has revealed it is being treated like a vast rubbish dump, with everything from shopping trolleys to traffic cones - and even a kitchen sink - being thrown into the water.

It follows a series of river cleans organised by the Kentish Stour Countryside Partnership (KSCP) which, in the last year, has removed thousands of bottles, cans, cigarette butts, food wrappings, plastic bags, clothing and face masks.

The mountain of waste has filled almost 270 bags.

Also fished out the river were 48 traffic cones, 18 shopping trolleys and 13 bikes.

The charity says the abuse is taking a terrible toll on wildlife, and is urging people to act more responsibly.

“We have found dead fish in shopping trolleys where they have got caught in the mesh,

eels trapped in glass bottles, small mammals which have died in bottles, ducks with plastic drinks hoops around their beaks and swans which have swallowed fishing hooks,” said KSCP Stour officer Lauren Baker. “It is so depressing to

see the river being treated as a bin, particularly when in many cases rubbish bins are located close by.

“But we are grateful for all of the support and time volunteers donate to help us clean up other people’s mess.”

Lauren co-ordinates the charity’s Our Stour project with the support of dozens of tireless volunteers.

Last month, a team of 10 tackled a 450-metre stretch of waterway and river bank between Kingsmead and Sainsbury’s in Canterbury, which resulted in 20 bags of rubbish, a shopping trolley, sleeping bags, rolls of carpet and even a kitchen sink being removed.

“Now the phrase ‘everything but the kitchen sink’ sadly doesn’t even apply,” sighed Lauren.

In the past year, volunteers have given 292 hours to help keep the Stour clean.

Lauren added: “Two of the main motivations for myself and volunteers on these river clean-ups are to remove the litter so that it’s not an eyesore but also to take out items which can harm and, in some cases, kill wildlife.

“We are very grateful to all those who give up their time to help us look after the Stour and protect this precious chalk river.”

She is continuing to press for a bottle deposit return scheme to be set up, saying it could prevent up to 10,000 items being discarded into the river.

The government manifesto in 2019 promised such a scheme, in which a surcharge would be added to a drink bottle when purchased, and refunded if that bottle is later returned.

But the pandemic interrupted the consultation.

A second consultation is now under way, but the document reveals it could be 2024 before any scheme becomes active.

Stour officer Lauren Baker and right, some of the rubbish dumped in the river