MEET OUR PLASTIC PICK UP HEROES

Army cadets. Students. Schools galore. Thousands of ordinary families. The response to our Great Plastic Pick Up is overwhelming – so will YOU be joining them?

MORE than 8,500 people across the country have already signed up to take part in the Mail’s Great Plastic Pick Up on the weekend of May 11-13. The response from our readers has been phenomenal. Councils are behind more than 500 events — and the number is growing. Visit greatplasticpickup.org to join in or organise your own pick up. There are even prizes worth £10,000 for the three best litter pick ups, and a prize for the best school, too. Here,

LOUISE ATKINSON reveals some of the organised pick ups and the inspirational people behind them… Sworder’s Field, Bishop’s Stortford, Herts

Ian Hudson, 65, is coordinator of Tidy Up Bishop’s Stortford, which gathers volunteers every two months to help clear up the town. ‘We’ll tidy after Stortford Music Festival over the bank holiday weekend. We are keen for as much of the plastic as possible to be recycled,’ he says. ‘Together, plastic is a problem we can solve.’

Watford riverside, Herts

Sandy Belloni, 54, runs a company in Watford and often works with volunteers to clear the River Colne. ‘In The last four years we have collected 2,150 cans, 900 plastic bottles, 190 glass bottles, 53 tyres, 48 trolleys, six motor scooters and 344 large bags of litter,’ he says.

‘This year — with support from the Mail’s campaign — we will easily beat these numbers.’

The towpath at Lisburn, Northern Ireland

Marian Mateer, 59, is a retired teacher. ‘My ToWpaTh is littered with plastic bottles and bags,’ she says. ‘It is awful to see waterfowl swimming through rubbish. We need to work together to combat this problem.’

Reading International Business Park

Liza Grazianoi, 26, works in human resources. ‘I Walk to work and there is always litter in the bushes along the path,’ she says. ‘I’m planning to get my team at work to clean it up. If we tackle it quickly, we can go through surrounding neighbourhoods, too.’

Saltwells Local Nature Reserve, Dudley

Alan Preece, 41, is the reserve’s senior warden. ‘We have had a big problem with fly-tipping at the nature reserve over the years, which we have started to clear up,’ he says. ‘however, it’s very slow going and I need some help to get it done.’

The Knowlhill bowl, Milton Keynes

Grandmother Pauline Reilly, 68, feels it’s time to do her bit to clean the rubbish up. ‘a FeW irresponsible people think it is ok to discard rubbish where they like,’ she says. ‘But it’s time to make the effort instead of complaining.’

Abingdon riverside

Retired nurse Nicky Grainger, 57, will be gathering a team to help her clear the riverbank. ‘The waterline is littered with debris — mainly bottles. I have tried to clear areas on my own, but it is overwhelming,’ she says.

Emlyn Meadows, Horley, Surrey

David Bunn, 47, works as a teaching assistant at Meath Green Junior School and with the local Pathfinder Scout Group, who are helping with his Great Plastic Pick Up. ‘ThIS wooded area is much loved by the community who use it for walking the dogs and playing in the open fields,’ he says. ‘The Scouts and I are determined to make it even more beautiful.’

Springhead Park, Leeds

Lee Brown, 38, is professor of aquatic science at the University of Leeds. He leads a clean-up group that often targets Springhead Park. ‘We knoW how much plastic waste there is in just the small park we work in. We often fill 20 bin bags in less than an hour. as fast as we clear the stuff, it keeps coming back. By linking with this event more people can see what we are doing,’ he says.

Staffordshire University, Stoke-on-Trent

Sam Pillow, 23, is sabbatical officer at Staffordshire University’s Students’ Union. ‘I’M BandIng together volunteers to spend a day cleaning up the campus and streets,’ he says. ‘I watch people throw litter all the time, so I hope this event will change people’s behaviour.’

Thames pedestrian track, Kew, West London

David Hewett, 75, hails from Sydney, Australia, and walks by the Thames each day, wielding a litter picker. ‘IT IS so easy to pick up litter while going for a walk and it makes such a difference,’ he says. ‘I used to pick up litter while kayaking around Sydney harbour and once found a floating plastic bag containing three gold chains.’

Bestwood Woods, Notts

SocIal worker caroline laybourn, 55, is fed up with fly-tippers who leave rubbish in the woods behind her home.

caroline will be joined by her husband, son, two daughters and 14-month-old grandson — although she says she hasn’t told them yet — in clearing the rubbish.

Cycle path, King’s Lynn

Retired serviceman Gary Walker, 66, has drummed up support from the King’s Lynn Air Cadets (aged 13-18) to clean up a cycle path. ‘geTTIng young people involved will make them realise just how important it is,’ he says. ‘I always thought the younger generation were more environmentally conscious, but after a Saturday night this place is strewn with litter.’

Copeland Avenue, Leicester

Exam invigilator Madeline Dodd, 57, has been rounding up neighbours to help clean up her local green. MadelIne has been knocking on doors with a copy of the daily Mail to sign them up to her pick up. She says: ‘It is such a lovely spot but rubbish has blighted it.’

Portway, Somerset

Paul Bridgewater, 66, was inspired to join in after friends from Sweden came to stay. ‘They were so conscious of recycling, and I was just embarrassed about the amount of rubbish in our neighbourhood,’ he says. his regular litter picks fill two sacks in an hour.

Gildersome playing fields, West Yorks

Claire Nixon, 37, is targeting a playing field where one litter pick cleared 20 bags of litter. ‘By raISIng awareness of this global issue, hopefully we can all pull together and do something about it before it’s too late,’ she says.

Spring Lane and Steetley Lane, Worksop, Notts

Margaret Edge, 54, who works for a plant nursery, plans to pick up plastic with her sons, Simon, 32, and Matthew, 28. ‘We love the country lanes but

they are a magnet for litter and are ready for a spring clean,’ she says.

Porthkidney Sands, St Ives, Cornwall

David Woods, 77, is a volunteer warden. ‘I go out several times a week with my neighbour to collect debris and pieces of fishing net which can damage wildlife,’ he says. ‘Seals and porpoises have died. Help us save a life.’

Broadstone Heath Nature Reserve, Dorset

Online shop owner Natasha Ray, 41, and her team will be targeting the nature reserve and other pedestrian routes. ‘THe residents of Broadstone love their community, ’ she says. ‘This is a fantastic way to clean up the beautiful area.’

Rudloe Firs and Box village, Glos

Dave Wright, 63, says the area has a volunteer team aged eight to 82 which sweeps the area on a regular basis. ‘ The Cotswolds views are blighted by litter,’ he says. ‘A recent haul recovered 42 bags of litter, including 28 bags of plastic.’

Blackley Forest, Manchester

Dot Keller, 73, hates the forest’s litter problem and tries to do her bit to clear up. ‘PeoPle throw litter over the railings and we find plastic buckets and car tyres,’ she says. ‘I am so fed up with seeing all of this rubbish.’

Thorney Bay, Canvey Island, Essex

CAnvey Bay Watch is a team of volunteers who have helped transform a forgotten beach full of rubbish into a community asset.

The local community has now installed 80 benches, picnic tables and 20 giant pots filled with palms and flowers, and will use the Great Plastic Pick Up to give the beach a spring clean.

Pittenweem, Scotland

Sue Mills, 62, settled in the village two years ago. ‘every day I pick up the litter brought with the tides into the harbour, including plastic fishing boxes and gloves,’ she says. ‘once I found a bag of trash floating in the water. If we all do our part we can lessen the impact.’

Jupiter Drive, Hemel Hempstead, Herts

Katie Gillingham, 26, teaches year one at Jupiter Community Free School. ‘ThIs is a great opportunity to help our children understand the importance of looking after our planet,’ she says. ‘The council is lending us equipment.’

North Chingford, Essex

Yvonne Sanders, 64, is a volunteer with the Love North Chingford Group. ‘We feel that north Chingford has been neglected,’ she says. ‘We hope when visitors see volunteers working hard to make the public areas cleaner, they will treat the areas with more respect.’

Newtonmore, Scotland

Paul Allan is a volunteer with the Newtonmore Community Woodland and Development Trust. ‘oUr event is a bid to clear the litter from the village and the countryside, mountains and river pathways,’ he says.

Cranfield, Beds

Instructor David Rawle, 66, is busy gathering forces from the Cranfield Tae Kwon Do club and the community. ‘I Am keen to engage with the Cubs, Brownies, Beavers, Guides, scouts, Army Cadets, Air Cadets and any individuals who would like to become involved.

‘It’s a chance to meet new people and make this Great Plastic Pick Up a truly community occasion,’ he says. The local Women’s Institute clubs have offered to provide refreshments.

Park Street recreation ground, St Albans

Peter Tiffany, 62, a retired IT security manager, says litter gets into the River Ver, their beautiful chalk stream. ‘ lITTer often blights the village, too,’ he says. ‘It is seemingly tossed out of vehicles and creates a terrible spectacle.’

Castle Street, Thetford, Norfolk

BreCklAnd Council and Thetford Town Council are joining forces as part of the Great Plastic Pick Up to create Thetford’s biggest ever litter pick on may 11.

It will consist of a guided walk around Thetford’s historic points of interest, collecting litter along the way, with refreshments courtesy of Grand Central restaurant at riverside.

everyone who attends will receive a complimentary cinema ticket from Thetford’s light Cinema and an offer voucher for Grand Central.

Ashington, Northumberland

Dawn Watson teaches at The Centre at The Northumberland Church of England Academy, which is running litter picks throughout May 11. ‘The students here have severe learning difficulties. We will use this campaign to help them gain a deeper understanding of the world around them so they can take their skills back to their communities,’ she says.

Colwyn Bay, North Wales

The Phillips family will be getting together on Colwyn Bay beach on May 12 to celebrate Frank Phillips’s 75th birthday with litter-picking. ‘frAnk has four children and eight grandchildren aged between five and 17, so we thought this would be a great birthday outing,’ says frank’s daughter, nadia rose, 48.

‘my mum lynn will direct proceedings from her deckchair and we’ll go out for a nice meal after — dad will have to work for it!’

Melvich, Scotland

Alison Jones, 60, and her sister, Nicola Mowat, 55, will be clearing rubbish in and around her village. ‘We PICk up litter when we walk our dogs but there seems to be a never-ending supply,’ she says.

Lochbuie, Isle of Mull, Scotland

Marie Fox, 45, who is semiretired, is organising a pick up on the Isle of Mull. ‘Join us on a walk along the rugged coast, taking in caves, cliffs, wildlife and more,’ she says. Breasclete School, near Callanish, will be holding a litter pick. ‘We WAnT to make our village clean and tidy and encourage the community to join in.’