I despair at human race when they dump litter in our countryside

The article in the Loughborough Echo regarding fly-tipping and litter in general (March 20) struck a cord with me.

For many years’ now I have been litter-picking at Dishley Pool and the surrounding area.

It’s an ongoing struggle to keep a lovely site free from trash that people carelessly dump.

The Black Brook which runs parallel to Dishley Pool has been choked with plastic bottles due to all the heavy rain we have been enduring over a sustained period.

My brother helps me in our crusade to keep the area tidy, but it soon all builds up again.

In my view fishing should be banned at Dishley Pool.

Wildlife must be given the optimum opportunity to flourish at this delightful area.

Last year, Gadwall bred at the pool for the first time, raising eleven chicks.

This was wonderful to see, and reaffirmed my view that Dishley Pool is first and foremost a nature reserve which deserves to be treated with the utmost respect.

Fishing is a disruption to the natural world, it causes stress to wildlife. Last year I spent two days’ clearing up a real grot spot where people had been fishing and camping.

Beer cans, plastic bottles, etc. Fishing has a place in the world, but not at Dishley Pool.

When it comes to fly-tipping I despair of the human race.

They have no right to dump their waste in our beautiful countryside. What kind of mentality does it take to desecrate the environment in such a callous, brutal way?

In the past I have cleared flytipped

rubbish on my own, but nowadays I ring the council when a flytip emerges in the county. To be fair to the council they are usually pretty good when it comes to clearing up a fly-tip I have reported.

Why can’t people show respect to this wonderful country?

They would surely feel better about themselves if they did.

Referring to the article in the March 20 edition of the Echo again, I would like to sing the praises of Scott Gibbins of the South Leicestershire Litter Wombles.

Like myself, Scott is addicted to litter picking. Every time I go to Dishley Pool I have my bin bag and picker with me.

People like Scott are the salt of the earth, and only reinforces my view that there are good people out there, folk who care about the environment. Richard, Loughborough