Kentish Express Ashford & District
Resident’s disgust at litter problem
Beauty spots in Ashford have once again been pictured scattered with litter.
One disgusted resident and selfappointed litter patrol man, Ted Prangnell of Kennington, took photographs of areas by the River Stour and in the Queen Mother’s Park, Ashford.
He said: “If one walks or cycles anywhere around Ashford, one is greeted by litter.
“The River Stour is acting like a conduit for everybody’s rubbish, some of which gets left behind when higher flood water recedes.
“Litter seems to be a feature of the river’s banks and of the town generally. There is no charm, or beauty, associated with that.”
Mr Prangnell also said he saw more rubbish in Queen Mother’s Park after a tidy up exposed all the discarded litter.
He added: “At long last the hedges and overgrowth has been cut back in the park to return much of the cycleways and footways to their full width.
“The workmen shredded most of their prunings but in doing so they exposed quite a lot of litter that had found its way into the undergrowth.
Ted Prangnell
“As a country are we the dirty man of Europe, or is the problem just in the Ashford area?
“What is anyone going to do about it? Perhaps no one cares. People who drop litter – and that must be most people – have no pride in our country or town.
“We need to tidy the place up, and essentially stop dropping more.”
An Ashford Borough Council spokesperson said: “We are aware of the litter near the River Stour and we will be sending our contractors out to clear the waste in due course. The litter by Queen Mother’s Park has already been cleared.
“It is disappointing to see people littering in their own town. We all want to live in a clean and pleasant borough but the council cannot achieve this alone.
“We encourage everyone to take a moment to find a litter bin when they are out and about; if there isn’t one nearby please hold onto your litter until you can find a bin or take your litter home.
“To coincide with the Clean for the Queen campaign, Ashford Borough Council will be running proactive litter picking events across the borough.”
For more information or to join an event email streetscene@ashford.gov.uk
‘If one walks or cycles anywhere around Ashford, one is greeted by litter’
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