Staff at The Harrogate Clinic were out litter picking in Harrogate town centre yesterday after seeing an increase in discarded rubbish.
The colleagues said they have seen an increase in litter since lockdown was loosened and finally decided something had to be done.
In just a few hours the team collected bags of rubbish filled with food packaging, wine and beer bottles and drug paraphernalia.
Walking into work each day, Dr Shoreh Ghasmi, says her and her colleagues often comment on the amount of litter and wanted to get a group together to tackle it.
Dr Ghasmi said:
“We wanted to take it upon ourselves to do something. We are so lucky to work in such a beautiful town and its really disappointing to see some people take it for granted.
“We are just wanting to give it a bit of spring clean.”
The litter pickers in Harrogate yesterday.
The team, from The Harrogate Clinic on Prospect Crescent, have said they plan to make this a monthly scheme with other local businesses already saying they want to get involved.
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Deja vu on the Stray, as party ends with litter
Large groups of young people partied on the Stray in Harrogate yesterday, leaving council workers and volunteers to clean up this morning.
Many people enjoyed the first day of warm weather since lockdown restrictions were eased.
But some broke social distancing rules and left a huge amount of litter.
Under current rules, people can only gather in groups of six.
But for much of the afternoon yesterday there were groups of about 40 in the Tewit Well area of the Stray.
Police officers engaged with those breaking social distancing rules but were unable to disperse the crowds.
Although many people left rubbish lying around, some was left by the bins.
Takeaway boxes, leftover food, beer bottles and cans were among the items discarded.
Some residents were left with a sense of deja vu, as the scene on was almost an exact replica of what happened on the Stray on various occasions last summer.
A lone council worker does his best to clean up the mess.
Many residents have inundated the Stray Defence Association with complaints about the mess left behind last night.
Judy d’Arcy Thompson, chair of the SDA, told the Stray Ferret:
“Wonderful that people are enjoying the Stray, however what a great shame that so many have left their mess, litter and bottles etc behind.
“It is very simple to take it to a bin or home. Clearly they have no consideration for other Stray users or the wildlife on the Stray for which litter can be a lethal hazard.
“Our Stray was a very sad sight this morning.”
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Two boys from Boroughbridge have found a way to stay active during lockdown while helping their community by litter-picking.
Gregory Bishop, 11 and brother Christopher, nine, were undeterred after a village litter-pick was cancelled due to covid.
Fed up seeing rubbish in their neighbourhood, they kept asking to go out and clean up.
This week they went to a stretch of Bar Lane and collected eight bin bags worth of litter.
Their efforts have been praised by the parish council.
Dad Laurence Bishop said:
“We are proud of them. They take a lot of pride in the area and environment and are disgusted by the litter that some local businesses take no responsibility for.“We are planning another litter-pick this weekend.”
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WATCH: Furloughed hotel worker cleans up the Stray
A hotel worker from The Crown Hotel in Harrogate has been spending his mornings cleaning up the Stray after it turned into ‘an absolute eyesore’ over the last three days.
Andrew Langley has been furloughed from working at the hotel and decided to do his bit for the district:
” I have been out all week picking up beer cans, pizza boxes and all whatever else. It’s something I feel I have to do. It had been ok up until now but the past three days it’s been packed with people and its been left in such a state, there should be a fine or something.”
The Stray in disarray: ‘Biggest mess for six years’
Hundreds of young people gathered on the Stray in the sunshine yesterday evening in what some described as a festival atmosphere.
A volunteer who has cleaned the Stray for the last six years described the aftermath this morning as the worst he ever has seen.
His comments came as council workers and volunteers cleaned up the majority of the mess – something which they have been forced to do more regularly in recent weeks.
In amongst the bin bags are empty beer bottles, takeaway boxes, and laughing gas canisters. The grass is also scorched in some areas and there were reports of people using the Stray as a public lavatory.
Beer bottles and empty takeaway boxes.
The Stray Ferret found remnants of waste this morning and spoke to disgruntled locals.
Mike Lewis said that last night’s events have put him off going for his evening strolls on the Stray. He said this morning:
“It’s just vile to see. I don’t have a problem with these young people enjoying themselves but when they leave all of this it is poor. I have been cleaning up the Stray for six years but this is the worst I have ever seen. This is outrageous.”
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He described it as a losing battle and called for tougher punishments for offenders. Those calls are something the Stray Defence Association (SDA) is backing.
There are still remnants from the night before.
Judy d’Arcy Thompson, who is chair of the SDA, told The Stray Ferret:
“Several public spirited people have helped by collecting litter. Sadly, those efforts are swamped by the avalanche of rubbish others leave. It is disgraceful. We are doing our very best to get those in authority to deal with it.”
Roger Hattam was on the Stray last night and took pictures of large groups. He told The Stray Ferret:
“I understand that these are young people trying to have a good time. We just need the council and the police to monitor the situation and talk to them. We need to make sure they aren’t spreading coronavirus to any elderly relatives.”
What are the authorities doing about it?
Harrogate Borough Council has issued a robust response to the litter this morning and labelled those responsible as selfish.
“Unfortunately these people don’t even bother to use any of the many bins provided and just leave rubbish where they were sitting. We are doing what we can with the resources available and have increased our collections to try and manage the problem.”
The council also said that it already spends hundreds of thousands of taxpayers’ money every year to pick up litter.
Early morning rant alert. Part 2 of 2. #Litter #Drugs #TalkToFrank #BrokenWindowTheory #Respect #TakeYourLitterHome #RantOver pic.twitter.com/PaCDuK6ana
— Sgt Paul Cording BEM (@OscarRomeo1268) June 25, 2020
North Yorkshire Police inspector Paul Cording was out on the Stray at 4.30am today. He posted a video on Twitter where he described it as “the morning after the night before”.
‘Well done lads’: Harrogate men win praise for cleaning the Stray“It is absolutely strewn with litter. There’s even some clear plastic zip bags and an awful lot of laughing gas canisters. The other thing I would describe is broken window theory. If one person thinks it’s okay to drop litter then everyone else will as well.”
A group of four young men has won lots of praise for cleaning up rubbish on the Stray this weekend.
Dan and Tom Locke as well as Jack Wignall and James Wilson have been using the area to play football and frisbee during the lockdown.
In recent days they have noticed people leaving more and more rubbish on the Stray so decided to take action on Saturday evening.
The group managed to fill around five bin bags with rubbish by riding their bikes around for about three hours.
Hannah Lee Skinner came across the group on Saturday. She posted a picture of them online, where hundreds commented to call them heroes.
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Tom Locke, who is 22-years-old and works at Newnham Street Garage, told The Stray Ferret:
“We just want people to consider the others and the environment more. I have been starting to notice that small changes can make a big difference. Hopefully people will follow our lead or at least pick up their own rubbish. It wasn’t too difficult to do, we had a laugh.”
He added that people were very appreciative on the Stray but when he asked them to help out they would say that it wasn’t their rubbish.
This really MUST stop. Why do people, sadly especially the young ones, leave their garbage behind them?
Please , please use the bins and also take your litter home. pic.twitter.com/S1EDcAGOtl— Stray Defence (@StrayDefence) June 18, 2020
The Stray Defence Association (SDA) recently called for people to take their litter home after finding empty beer bottles, sweet wrappers and leftover takeaway food.
Litter has been an increasing problem in recent days with pleasant weather and the lockdown leading to more people meeting up on the Stray.
Harrogate Borough Council has welcomed more people using the district’s parks but added that people should dispose of their rubbish correctly.