Angus youngster is hailed lockdown litter hero.

ARBROATH: Keep Scotland Beautiful recognises crusade to help tidy up town

An inspirational Angus youngster has been hailed as one of Scotland’s Lockdown Litter Heroes for her crusade to clean up her local area.

Arbroath nine-year-old Lily Souter spent hours picking up litter around her home town – convincing a supermarket to site new bins at rubbish hotspots.

In the process, she has raised more than £2,000 for the St Vigeans Conservation Network.

She is now one of three people in the country who have been given Lockdown Litter Hero status by environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful.

Lily had noticed an increase in litter on the streets of Arbroath and her clean-up was inspired by television biologist Monty Halls.

She said: “I wanted to clean up litter to save sea animals.

“I watched My Family And The Galapagos and they were litter picking and I thought that was a good idea.”

Lily went on to work with her local Morrisons store, persuading them to purchase three community bins, which Angus Council has agreed to empty.

Lily designed stickers with the #Saveourseas message for them and hopes to convince other supermarkets to donate more community bins.

Keep Scotland Beautiful said she was a “remarkable nine-year-old and brilliant champion for our beautiful country”.

Campaigns manager Heather Mclaughlin said: “As lockdown restrictions have eased, we have unfortunately seen a minority of selfish individuals show no regard for our beautiful country.

“Lily has gone above and beyond what is expected of an adult, let alone a child.”

She will receive a kit of goodies to help her with litter picks courtesy of Keep Scotland Beautiful partner Helping Hand.

Lockdown litter hero Lily Souter deserves being honoured by Keep Scotland Beautiful. The youngster did not like the mess being made of her home town Arbroath and took matters into her own hands, removing rubbish, securing new litter bins and raising funds for a local conservation group.

A lot of people complain about the prevalence of litter in their communities but few do so much about it.

Lily may be a tender nine years old but she is an inspiration to us all.

Picture: Mhairi Edwards. Lily with one of her sticker designs.