We need YOU to help clean up our country

THIS time last year the Mail asked you, our remarkable readers, to lead a fightback against the scourge of litter that blights our precious landscape and coastline.

We asked for 500,000 volunteers, scarcely daring to hope we could ever meet such an audacious target.

In the end we not only met it but soared past it, making the 2019 Great British Spring Clean – organised in partnership with Keep Britain Tidy – the biggest single environmental action ever known in this country.

A staggering 563,000 of you came together and collected 4,300 tons of litter from our cities, towns and countryside, making life infinitely more pleasant for us all.

But perhaps we shouldn’t have been so amazed by this thrilling response.

In Mail campaigns, from fighting plastic pollution to volunteering for the NHS, to becoming a Tree Angel, you have always exceeded our highest expectations. Your energy, community pride and social conscience have never been less than inspiring.

So today, we hope to tap into that deep well of public-spiritedness once again by launching a similar mission. And for the Great British Spring Clean 2020, our target is even more ambitious.

This year we hope to persuade one million volunteers to take part in the event, which runs from March 20 to April 13.

You can either join organised events, create a group of your own, or act as an individual to help clear up the environment around you. Details of exactly how to sign up are on page 5.

Even the Wombles – the original recyclers – have come out of hibernation to help spearhead the campaign, launched by the Prime Minister in Downing Street.

Indeed, so moved was Boris Johnson by the sight of Orinoco, that he began singing their theme tune ‘Wombling Free’.

Such is the enduring power of the ecowarriors of Wimbledon Common.

Last year, our backers included Sir David Attenborough, Prince William and Bill Gates. We hope that they and many more will take up the torch again.

But by far the most important people are you, the readers. You have demonstrated again and again your commitment to maintaining the long-term health of this cherished land.

What’s more, you have proved you are willing to roll up your sleeves and do something about cleaning it up.

So yes, raising one million volunteers is a bold ambition. But in light of your past achievements, we have no doubt you’ll get there.