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.
