Volunteers clean up 1,800 pieces of rubbish - including a frying pan and 40-year-old Vimto can - in Shropshire hillside but organiser more hopeful than ever
A band of volunteers scouring two Shropshire hills for rubbish found more than 1,800 pieces of trash in three hours - including a frying pan and a Vimto can that went out of date in the 1980s.
The Wrekin and the Ercall near Wellington are much cleaner than they were last week thanks to the efforts of 32 volunteers young and old, who gathered for the fourth Wrekin, Ercall & Limekiln Wood Trail Clean on Saturday (March 7).
It is the brainchild of Ruth Finney, owner of Shropshire mountain bike guide business Recce. Ruth, 46, launched the event in 2023 as a "trial" in order to show her love for some of Shropshire's natural environment.
The first event saw more than 1,000 pieces of rubbish collected, and the second and third events were even more productive.
"We've done pretty much the same thing year on year," said Ruth.
"Mountain bike riders need to give something back to the areas they ride in. For me it is giving something back."
This year 31 volunteers young and old joined Ruth for Saturday morning's spring trail clean. Mountain bikers, hikers, runners and walkers convened at the Forest Glen car park near the base of the Wrekin where they were given a bag each. From there they all set off to explore their chosen part of the surrounding landscape and collect what rubbish they could find in three hours.
"Everyone was free to choose their own route," said Ruth. "All of the Wrekin and all of the Ercall; I did try to include Limekiln Wood but I don't think anyone got into the depths."
They returned to the spring trail clean's 'hub' in a gated clearing adjacent to the car park where the rubbish was deposited, identified and sorted into categories.
